Wedding ceremony of frogs held in India
It's a nice day for a green wedding - as two frogs got married in front of over 2,000 wedding guests in India.
This Saturday, July 11, 2009 photograph, villagers solemnize a frog marriage as they pray for rains at Gazole village, in the outskirts of Malda in West Bengal state, India. The frog marriage is a traditional ritual observed by the rural folk to appease the gods to bring in rain
Barun and Bijuli at the wedding ceremony. Or maybe Bijuli and Barun, we're not entirely sure.
The frogs were joined in matrimony in a traditional ceremony in Hengrabari, in the northwestern Indian state of Assam. It wasn't the result of an amphibian romance, however, and neither of the frogs turned into a prince after being kissed.
Instead, it was an attempt to end the dry spell that has hit most parts of Assam over the past months, which has led to severe water shortages.
It's a traditional belief that when a frog marriage is performed, the Barun Devata [the rain-god] is pleased and the rain comes,' former councillor Bijoy Das told The Hindu newspaper.
The wedding of the frogs - male Barun (meaning wind) and female Bijuli (meaning thunder) - was accompanied by all the traditions of Assamese weddings, including songs and gifts presented to the bride.
The amphibians were then fed a special celebratory lunch of flies and mosquitoes. After the ceremony, the happy couple were sent on their honeymoon - by being released into a local stream.
A spokesman for the local authorities said: 'The marriage went off very well. We hope that now the rains will finally come. The region is absolutely parched and we need rain. We didn't know what else to do.'
The news was not so good, however, for a male toad who attended the ceremony, who died during the proceedings.
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