Girl marries dog to ward off 'evil eye'

A seven-year-old girl married a stray dog as part of a ritual to ward off the “evil eye” on her and her family in eastern India.

Shivam Munda’s upper teeth appeared before her lower teeth – considered a bad omen by members of the Santhal ethnic group to which she belongs, the Press Trust of India said in a report from Dhanbad, a coal mining town in the eastern state of Bihar.

Kundan Munda, a coal mine worker, said his daughter married the dog only to “remove the evil eye,” a superstitious belief that some misfortune could befall her and the family, and that she would be free to marry a man later.

Friends and family participated in three days of traditional ceremonies and festivities that are part of a Santhal tribal marriage, Munda said.