Girl marries dog to protect herself!
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7...5,00180007.htm
:rolleyes: :eek: :rolleyes: :confused: :rolleyes: :eek: :confused: :rolleyes: Strange, but not the first time this has happened. But at FIVE years old?
Girl marries dog to protect herself!
Indo-Asian News Service
Bhubaneswar, April 7, 2005
A five-year-old girl in Bhubaneswar was married off to a dog in the presence of some 200 people as part of a tribal custom to protect her from carnivorous animals.
During the ceremony performed at a Bhubaneswar slum on Wednesday, the couple first exchanged rings, the dog-bridegroom applied vermilion on the girl's forehead with one of his legs as a priest chanted hymns - the practice, Munda tribesmen, say adhering to their centuries-old beliefs.
"If a girl's first tooth appears on the upper gum, she is believed to be in grave danger of being killed by carnivorous animals. This can only be warded off by a marriage to a dog," father of the girl, Naveen Munda, said.
"Our community will allow the girl to remarry a tribal boy after growing up. But for now, I had to conduct this marriage to save my daughter."
Organised by two Munda families - one the girl's and the other that owns the dog - the ceremony was conducted with the same pomp and rejoicing that would accompany any other marriage among the 100,000-odd strong community.
The couple were given new clothes to wear, guests feasted and danced to the sounds of drums and cymbals and the tribal women splashed vermilion and turmeric paste on the couple.
"There is nothing wrong in it," said Raghunath Munda, the owner of the dog.
Ironically, the marriage ceremony was facilitated by Utkal Bikash Mancha - an NGO that works among Orissa's tribals - in a bid, they said, to preserve their primitive culture.
"Such marriages are a common practice among the Munda tribe," said P.K. Patel, a senior researcher at Orissa's Academy of Tribal Dialect and Culture.
"The Mundas mainly live in the northern districts of Keonjhar, Sundergarh and Mayurbhanj," he said.
According to Mahendra Parida, secretary of the state's Centre for Child and Women's Development, a small group of Mundas had come to the city around two decades ago, in search of jobs.
"They are illiterate and superstitious. We need to take steps to create awareness among them and stop such practices," he said.
Last month, a 13-year-old girl, Dugi, of the same tribe in Keonjhar, revolted against her marriage to a 50-year-old man.
According to tribal practice, a boy selects the girl he wants to marry by applying vermilion on her forehead. The girl is expected to comply irrespective of her preferences.
Dugi lodged a police complaint against Suna Hembram, 50, who applied the vermilion on her forehead during a festival.
