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Keyword: pongal

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  • Two Minor Girls Married Off To Frogs

    01/17/2009 4:52:28 PM PST · by nickcarraway · 40 replies · 1,204+ views
    The Times of India ^ | 17 Jan 2009
    In a bizarre ritual, two minor girls, both seven, from the remote Pallipudupet village in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district were married off to frogs on Friday night. The ceremony, an annual feature during the Pongal (harvest) festival, is conducted "to prevent the outbreak of mysterious diseases in the village''. The girls, Vigneswari and Masiakanni, dressed up in traditional bridal finery -- gilded sarees and gold jewellery -- married the frog 'princes' in separate, elaborate ceremonies at two different temples in the presence of hundreds of villagers. Amidst chanting of vedic hymns, the temple priests garlanded the brides and tied the...