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Fri Jun 20, 3:56 AM ET
NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) - A nine-year-old Indian girl has been married to a dog amid religious chants after a priest told her parents the wedding would ward off evil, a government official says.
The marriage between Karnamoni and a mongrel dog called "Bachchan" -- after India's popular movie star Amitabh Bachchan -- took place earlier this month in Khannan village, some 60 km (35 miles) northwest of Calcutta.
"The priest told the girl's family, who are poor tribal farmers, that because new teeth appeared on her upper gums rather her lower gums, it was a bad omen and she would die," government welfare officer M.M. Rana told Reuters by phone on Friday.
"The priest said to ward off danger to her life, the parents should marry the girl to a dog, which they did," Rana said.
Officials and witnesses said Karnamoni married the dog, which has a brown, white and black coat, on a raised dais amid chanting of religious hymns and the feeding of the canine "groom" with rice.
The communist government in West Bengal said it planned to investigate the wedding, although it was merely a ceremonial one and the girl will be free to marry a man when she is older.
Indian tribal girl Karnamoni Handsa, 9, offers food to her husband, a two-year-old dog named Bachcha, at Khanyan, 60 km (37 miles) northwest from Calcutta, state capital of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal June 19, 2003. Local media reported on Thursday that Handsa married the stray dog in a ceremony last week as part of a ritual to ward off a bad omen. Other news media reported that the marriage does not interfer with Handsa's life, with her being allowed to marry again later in life and suffer no stigma.
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