View source for Human–animal marriage

'''Human-animal marriage''',  i.e., [[marriage]] between [[human]]s and non-human [[animal]]s, is not recognized by any modern [[country]], 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 [[Interpersonal relationship|relationship]].

Despite this, there are numerous cases of people seeking to [[marriage|marry]] animals they loved,  including 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]] named [[Rose (goat)|Rose]] 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 [[Nation]]al [[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]].

==Historical cases==
===Horse===
* It is often said that the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Emperor]] [[Caligula]] both married his horse [[Incitatus]], and also appointed it to the [[Senate]], probably to show his disdain for that body.
* 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]]'' had 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 one hundred guests, who danced to the beating of [[drum]]s and drank home-made [[liquor]]. The girl told [[Western world|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 seventy five 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 - forty one 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 fifteen years. Tendler requested permission from the dolphin's trainer for the "wedding". The marriage, painted romantically by the [[Mass media|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]] which was subsequently nicknamed [[Rose (goat)|Rose]], was ordered by the council of [[Elder (administrative title)|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]

===Snake===
* June 2006 - an [[India]]n woman from [[Bhubaneswar]], [[Orissa]], who "who fell in love with a snake", married the reptile at a "traditional Hindu wedding celebrated by 2,000 guests". She claimed a bond of understanding of a kind existed between the two. The woman had previously been ill, and recovered upon offering the snake milk, during which time she fell in love. She later "converted to the animal-loving vegetarian [[Vaishnav]] sect whose local elders gave her permission to marry the [[cobra]]." [http://hindustantimes.com/news/181_1711610,00110002.htm]

==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 (star cluster)|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]
* 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]

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

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