Seven-year-old Indian girls 'marry' frogs

[Laisrean]

Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4290761/Seven-year-old-Indian-girls-marry-frogs.html)


Hundreds of villages in Pallipudpet, 250 kms from Madras, walked to the temple, carrying the two brides aloft on their shoulders, while the frogs were tied to long sticks garlanded with flowers. During the ceremony, a Hindu priest chanted prayers, tied the bride's hands with his on behalf of the grooms and pronounced them frogs and wives before a holy fire.

The ceremony has its roots in the story of the Hindu God Shiva who turned himself into a frog following a quarrel with his wife Parvati. She cried for days causing disease to spread throughout local villages. When the villages asked for help she sent them to find Shiva and plead with him to marry a young girl. She herself posed as the girl, and when Shiva agreed to marry her they returned to their original god forms and the outbreak was cured.

Should this be illegal?

[Philosophia]

Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4290761/Seven-year-old-Indian-girls-marry-frogs.html)

Should this be illegal?

Why? If that's what their tradition is and it isn't hurting anybody, than I don't see any harm in it. The marriages don't last anyway as the frogs get thrown back into pond later on.

[spiral]

:wtf:

I don't know, if the frogs are thrown back into the pond and that's the end of it, I guess there's no real harm done...

I'd rather see 7 year olds married to frogs than grown men, anyway!

[Infinite Grey]

It's no more ignorant than any other religious tradition - and the frogs are released at the end. It is very silly though.

[Chaos Hawk]

The ceremony has its roots in the story of the Hindu God Shiva who turned himself into a frog following a quarrel with his wife Parvati. She cried for days causing disease to spread throughout local villages. When the villages asked for help she sent them to find Shiva and plead with him to marry a young girl. She herself posed as the girl, and when Shiva agreed to marry her they returned to their original god forms and the outbreak was cured.
. . .
For the brides Vigneswari and Masiakanni, the marriages came to a swift and happy end: hours after tying the knot, their green grooms were thrown back into a muddy pond.

I don't think it sounds too awful.

I think it depends on what the future is or the brides. Are they considered already married for the rest of their lives? Or is it over when the frog is returned?

I don't see the harm in the ceremony really, if the frogs are returned unhurt to the water and the girls get to go on to marry others.

[spiral]

I think it depends on what the future is or the brides. Are they considered already married for the rest of their lives?

Yeah, that's the only thing that would really bother me.

[TygerTyger]

I don't see the harm in the ceremony really, if the frogs are returned unhurt to the water and the girls get to go on to marry others....newts, toads, lizard, snakes, monkeys and eventually men.

[Philosophia]

I think it depends on what the future is or the brides. Are they considered already married for the rest of their lives? Or is it over when the frog is returned?

According to this article (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Two_minor_girls_married_off_to_frogs_in_Tamil_Nadu/articleshow/3994895.cms):

However, unlike the fairy tale `Frog Prince', where the ugly toad turns into a handsome prince when the princess kisses it, the Villupuram village belles bid their amphibian grooms goodbye and lead a normal life thereafter.

It seems like the marriages are over when the frogs are released.

[Laoghaire]

Is this news?
:rolleyes:

[Stormbeard]

I thought every girl dreamed of marrying a prince?

[Chaos Hawk]

According to this article (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Two_minor_girls_married_off_to_frogs_in_Tamil_Nadu/articleshow/3994895.cms):

However, unlike the fairy tale `Frog Prince', where the ugly toad turns into a handsome prince when the princess kisses it, the Villupuram village belles bid their amphibian grooms goodbye and lead a normal life thereafter.

It seems like the marriages are over when the frogs are released.

Thank you for the additional info :thumbsup:

[Amilee]

I thought every girl dreamed of marrying a prince?

No, every girl just dreams of marrying you. Or Starblaze. Either one...

Wait...is that just me? ^^

[Toby Stimpson]

This is the thing. On one hand, we dont have additional information to verify if the Telegraph got it right or not. Im also conscious that it would be easy, and you've already fallen into this trap Laisrean, to view this story through your cultural background.

On another hand, I see a lot of people saying that it is alright because it's a 'cultural or religious' thing. I think thats an easy trap to fall into as well because far too often do people ignore certain things because it may be 'cultural.'

If we go by the information in the link, it says that sometimes these girls are forced into it. The Government, which I would assume would be the Tamil Nadu state government (if these villages are in Tamil Nadu) obviously thinks theres some danger if they are going to spend money on sending in social workers, sociologists and religious leaders to investigate. That tells us one thing that I could have told you, this is neither cultural or religious. It may be in the villages but obviously not by others in the same society.

I just dont think we have enough information to make judgement on this.

[aluokaloo]

well its not hurting anyone

[Nicholas]

A little strange, but it is a cultural experience. It doesn't appeal to me, and since spirituality holds no significance in my mind it is probably the reason. I wonder how the frog feels about all this...