* * * Jharkhand News <http://jharkhand.org.in/>* ** **
*Superstition in Jharkhand Area * Humans married to pups in Jharkhand, to ward off evil http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEH200 Three boys and two girls were married to puppies in the superstition that it would ward off evil at this remote tribal-dominated village in Jharkhand's Saraikela-Kharswan district on Monday. Salu Banra, the mother of one of the girls, 15-year-old Pushpa, a student of class seven in a government school said, "this is a custom. We set the puppy free after the marriage." The upper tooth appearing in either a girl or a boy is considered inauspicious by the Ho tribe which lives in this village. "Marriage to puppies of the opposite gender gets rid of the evil," said some of the other villagers. They said that six marriages between puppies and boys and girls had taken place on Sunday. The pup-human marriage takes place on only two days in a year – the second and third of the month of Maghe. Today was the third of Maghe. Full grown dogs are not used in the marriages but puppies which are called 'pida panda' (one who drives away evil). All rituals and customs of a tribal marriage takes place with a priest officiating and guests invited, entertained by songs and dances, the villagers told a PTI correspondent. Dowry in cash is sought and given. The bride is also given new clothes to wear. Only in case of smearing of sindur (vermillion), it is applied not to the puppies or humans but to a tree known locally as 'renge banam'. When contacted, SDO Dinesh Prasad said, "this is a tradition. As long as they don't disturb others, we don't interfere." An elderly woman belonging to the Ho community, Laxmi Kalundia, said such marriages also demonstrated the fondness for pets and nature. Woman sacrificed by husband in Jharkhand Source: Indo-Asian News Service Sunday, 24 February , 2008, 14:29 Ranchi: A woman was sacrificed by her husband in a village in Jharkhand as he claimed he wanted to achieve supernatural powers. The incident took place in Hariyari village of Godda district, which is about 500 km from Ranchi on Friday, according to reports in local media on Sunday. Funiram Soren asked his wife Fulin Hembrom to bow in front of images of gods and goddesses. When she bowed down, he hit her head with an iron rod. She started bleeding profusely. Funiram later strangulated her to death. The neighbours of Funiram informed police about the incident. After killing his wife, Funiram absconded. According to villagers, Funiram was trying to gain supernatural powers. The black magic god reportedly came in his dream and asked him to sacrifice a close relative so he killed his wife. Human sacrifice is not new in Jharkhand. In last seven years, more than half a dozen case of human sacrifice have been reported in the state. *Jharkhand => www.jharkhand.us* . __,_._,___ -- Jharkhand News [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jharkhand Online Network www.jharkhand.org.in/news --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Explore http://Jharkhand.org.in 4 Live Chat, i-Messaging, Music Video, News and much more..... Posting Norms - http://www.jharkhand.org.in/posting_norms.htm -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
