BHUBANESWAR: Despite advancement of science, the hold of superstitions on human society is seen when parents get their children married to animals to protect their families from evil and brand them with hot iron to “cure” them from diseases. One such incident was reported on Sunday from Baria village under Sukruli block in tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district.
According to reports, a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, the daughter of Bibhishana Chatar, had two crooked teeth, which is very common these days. Considering it as a ‘bad omen,’ her family got her married to a dog on the final day of Mage, a tribal festival, as per their tribal traditions.
Without opposing the act, the villagers attended the wedding and blessed the newly wed bride. In tribal dominated districts of Koraput, Nabar-angpur, Malkangiri, Kala-handi, people in interior areas often brand their children with hot iron and bangles under the belief that such an exercise would cure them (children) of their diseases.
