WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Indian boy weds dog to ward off tiger attack: report
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-19 08:53

NEW DELHI  – A group of Indian tribals have married off a toddler to a female dog in eastern India in a bid to prevent his predicted death at the hands of a tiger, a report said Wednesday.


Photo illustration of a dog. A group of Indian tribals have married off a toddler to a female dog in eastern India in a bid to prevent his predicted death at the hands of a tiger, a report said Wednesday. [Agencies] 

The ceremony at a Hindu temple in Orissa state's Jajpur district was conducted with all the rituals observed at traditional weddings, including a dowry for the bride -- the village bitch.

The dog sported two silver rings and a silver chain, the UNI news agency reported.

Parents of the groom, one-and-a-half year old Sangula, were advised to arrange the marriage when they noticed a tooth growing from their infant son's upper gum -- considered a bad omen.

Community elders believed the growth would lead to the boy being killed in a tiger attack -- a fate preventable, according to tribal tradition, by marrying a dog.

Sanrumula Munda, Sangula's father, said the ceremony would not prevent him from marrying properly when he comes of age.

Superstition is still a potent force in tribal and remote communities of India.