Human–animal marriage

Animal marriage in popular culture is most often seen as a derogatory "slippery slope" claimed to lead from same-sex marriage, but historically, non-binding animal marriages have occurred, especially in pre-modern cultures.

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

Despite this, there are numerous cases of people seeking to marry animals they loved, from the Roman Emperor Caligula often said to have both married his horse Incitatus and appointed it to the Senate, through to the 2005 case of 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 myth on the subject. It is possible that some less well known religions, 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 chattels (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 consummated, which in such a partnership would in many territories constitute an illegal act.

Historical cases

Horse

• It is often said that the Roman Emperor Caligula both married his horse Incitatus, and also appointed it to the Senate, likely to show his disdain for that body.
• In some parts of Celtic Ireland, kings (often called "sacred kings") had to wed the local goddess of the land. A druidess 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. [1]
• 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. [2]

Dog

• June 2003 - a nine year old Indian 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 drums 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. [3]

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. [4]

• 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. [5]

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 'kissed' 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 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 Sudanese man caught having sex with a neighbour's goat, was ordered by the council of elders to pay the neighbour a dowry of 5,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) and marry the animal. [6]

Snake

• June 2006 - an Indian 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." [7]

Folklore, myth, and popular culture

• A Korean 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) [8] [9]
• A Cheyenne myth "The Girl who married a Dog", states that the group of seven stars known as the Pleiades originated from seven 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". [10] [11]
• In the last episode of the sitcom Punky Brewster, Brandon marries a dog named Brenda. [12]
• 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. [13] (told by John Blackned)
• One Inuit origin-myth states that the human races originated from the offspring of a girl who married a dog. [14]

See also

• Marriage
• Animal love
• Loving relationship
• Long-term relationship
• Affectional bond
• Exogamy
• Speciesism
• Anthrozoology
• Zoophilia