Human–animal marriage

2006-06-04T22:40:05Z

65.10.95.24:

No modern [[country]] recognizes [[marriage]] between [[humans]] and [[non-human]]s, but throughout history people have sought ways to commit to an [[animal]] they loved in this way, often involving [[ceremony|ceremonies]] which, whilst not [[legal]]ly [[binding]], carry great personal significance. Such marriages as are allowed by [[tradition]], or within a [[culture]], are often [[symbol]]ic or [[ritual]], rather than the more usual recognition of an enduring and full [[relationship]].

Despite this, there are numerous cases of people seeking to [[marriage|marry]] animals they loved, from the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Emperor]] [[Caligula]] often said to have both married his [[horse]] [[Incitatus]] and appointed it to the [[Senate]], through to the [[2005]] case of [[Cindy the Dolphin|a woman who married a dolphin]], and a [[2006]] case of a [[Sudanese]] man who was ruled to be obligated to pay [[dowry]] and marry a [[goat]] following [[sexual]] activity with it. In addition there is significant [[folklore]] and [[mythology|myth]] on the subject. It is possible that some less well known [[religion]]s, or older traditions, may indeed permit such marriages.

== Law ==
No present-day [[national]] [[jurisdiction]] is known to allow marriage between humans and non-humans. They are not legally recognized and purported marriage ceremonies usually have no legislative [[validity]]. This is because in most legal systems, animals are viewed as [[chattel]]s (property), and are therefore not considered to have capacity to comprehend marriage any more than a [[suitcase]] can, nor the [[personhood]] to enter into legal or other agreements. Additionally, in many customs, a marriage must be [[consummation|consummated]], which in such a [[partnership]] would in many [[territories]] constitute an [[illegal]] act.

== Historical cases ==
=== Horse ===
* It is often said that the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Emperor]] [[Caligula]] both married his horse [[Incitatus]], and appointed it to the [[Senate]].
* In some parts of [[Celt]]ic [[Ireland]], kings (often called "sacred kings") had to wed the local [[goddess]] of the land. A [[druid]]ess was usually chosen to represent the land goddess as the king's wife, but one king in [[Donegal]] married a horse, a representative of their local [[goddess]]. [http://library.thinkquest.org/C0116903/society/classes.htm]
* [[May 1998]] - ''[[The Jerry Springer Show]]'' produced an episode titled "I married a horse". The show was ultimately not aired by many stations on the planned date, apparently due to concerns about the acceptability of broadcasting an episode in which a man admitted to a long term emotional and sexual relationship of this kind. The man and his horse later participated in a British documentary on the subject. [http://www.cincypost.com/living/1998/spring052198.html]

=== Dog ===
* [[June 2003]] - a nine year old [[India]]n girl of the [[Santal]] (or 'Santhal') tribe of [[Khanyhan]], near [[Calcutta]] was formally married to a [[dog]], in order to ward off a bad [[omen]]. The wedding was attended by more than 100 guests, who danced to the beating of [[drum]]s and drank home-made [[liquor]]. The girl told [[Western]] [[press]], "I have no regret in marrying the dog Bacchan. I am fond of the dog who moves around our locality," and tribal elders added she was free to remarry in future as an [[adult]]. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3004930.stm]
:: This is apparently not uncommon; a second case of a four year old [[girl]] of the same [[tribe]] was reported the same month in [[Jharkhand]]. The mother stated, "To remove the evil eye on Tannu, I had to marry my daughter to a dog." A local reportedly explained, "If the child is born with joint [[teeth]], it's a sign of bad omen which harms the fortunes of the child. So, a girl who takes out joint teeth is bound to marry a dog ... We are performing all the rituals that take place in a real marriage. We perform all rituals with full enjoyment and commitment." The tradition is that a baby girl gets married to a dog and baby boy to a young [[cat]]. Traditional marriage customs and celebrations are the same as for real marriages. [http://www.indiatraveltimes.com/news/news2006/feb06/feb2506_news3.html#5]
* [[February 2004]] - a 75 year old man from [[Kathmandu]] [[Nepal]] married a dog "in a local custom" of his [[Tharu]] community, attended by his son and other relatives. [http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/69459/1/.html]

=== Dolphin ===
* [[December 2005]] - 41 year old Sharon Tendler of [[Great Britain]] unofficially married Cindy, a male [[dolphin]] held at the Dolphin Reef [[dolphinarium]] in [[Eilat]], [[Israel]], in a [[ceremony]] where she offered [[fish]] and the dolphin '[[kiss]]ed' her. She had been visiting Cindy regularly for the past 15 years. Tendler requested permission from the dolphin's trainer for the "wedding". The marriage, painted romantically by the [[media]], was in her words considered "a bit of fun" after her friends joked about her being single at that age. ''(See: [[Cindy the Dolphin]])''

=== Goat ===
* [[February 2006]] - a [[Sudan]]ese man caught having sex with a neighbour's [[goat]], was ordered by the council of [[elder]]s to pay the neighbour a [[dowry]] of 5,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) and marry the animal. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4748292.stm]

== [[Advocacy]] and support groups, and related topics ==
== Folklore, myth, and popular culture ==
* A [[Korea]]n folktale, sometimes known as ''The Silkworm'', tells how [[silk]] originated following the King's daughter spiritually marrying a horse, in completion of a promise made in times of trouble. In the tale, the princess was reborn as a silkworm, a creature whose appearance and mannerisms superficially were said to resemble that of a horse. (From Chonsol Ttara Samch'olli, retold by Heinz Insu Fenkl) [http://www.geocities.com/ifenkl/kft/silkworm.html] [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1:18018300/The+woman+who+married+a+horse~C~+five+ways+of+looking+at+a+Chinese+folktale~R~.html?refid=ip_hf]
* A [[Cheyenne]] myth "The Girl who married a Dog", states that the group of seven stars known as the [[Pleiades]] originated from seven [[puppy|puppies]] which a Cheyenne chief's daughter gave birth to after mysteriously being visited by a dog in human form to whom she vowed "Wherever you go, I go". [http://www.angelfire.com/ca/Indian/GirlMarriedDog.html] [http://www.firstpeople.us/fp-html-legends/TheGirlWhoMarriedADog-Cheyenne.html]
* In the last episode of the [[sitcom]] ''[[Punky Brewster]]'', Brandon marries a dog named Brenda. [http://www.jumptheshark.com/p/punkybrewster.htm]
* The [[Cree]] people of [[Waskaganish]] [[Canada]] tell the tale of "The Girl and the Dog", in which a girl living alone is visited by a talking dog who she jestingly agrees to marry. The dog hunted for her and she had a [[hybrid]] [[offspring]]. Finally the woman had human visitors, and resolved to marry one of them, and was killed by the dog in her [[sleep]], out of jealousy. [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/waskaganish/mythsthewoman.html] (told by John Blackned)
* One [[Inuit]] origin-myth states that the human races originated from the offspring of a girl who married a dog. [http://www.collectionscanada.ca/north/h16-4109-e.html]

== Religions' and traditions' views ==
== Ceremonies and rituals ==



== See also ==
* [[Marriage]]
* [[Animal love]]
* [[Loving relationship]]
* [[Long-term relationship]]
* [[Exogamy]]
* [[Speciesism]]
* [[Anthrozoology]]
* [[Zoophilia]]

== External links ==

[[Category:Human-animal relationships]]
[[Category:Anthropology]]
[[Category:Society]]
[[Category:Marriage]]

Zoophilia Wiki - User contributions [en]

Human–animal marriage