Monkey Wedding Called Illegal By Indian Officials

It was a wedding that thousands waited eagerly for since the engagement was announced. Invitations were sent, the details were meticulously labored over, and finally, to the almost-hysteric joy of the crowds, the big day arrived.

In the small village of Talwas, Rajasthan, Raju, a well-known cigarette smoking monkey, and his bride Chinki were married, according to Stuff.

Raju had become a local celebrity after Ramesh Saini, a rickshaw driver, adopted him three years ago when he found the monkey unconscious.

He's been a surrogate son to the childless Ramesh ever since.

"I want to enjoy the feelings of a son's marriage through Raju's wedding." Ramesh told the publication. "We will welcome the bride in our house ... after the wedding with all rituals."

Raju's bethrothed Chinki lived with a priest in a nearby village.

More than 2,000 guests were expected to attend the pre-wedding feast and to watch Raju ride atop a horse in a procession, Stuff reported. The wedding was planned in accordance with traditional Hindi customs, including sacred fires and fragrant incense.

Monkeys are revered by many Hindus, because the deity Hanuman appeared in primate form.

But the carefully made preparations were thrown into havoc by government officials who cracked down on the animal nuptials, because monkeys are technically government property. So marrying a monkey, even to another monkey, is illegal

(Yet there were no run-ins with the law at a 2008 monkey wedding in Orissa, another Indian state, that attracted thousands. Nor was there any strife when an Indian man wed a female dog in 2007.)

Two hundred guards from the forest department flooded Talwas on the wedding day after warning that all guests would be arrested. Hundreds of attendees showed up despite the threats, but Raju, Chinki and their owners had fled.

In a final twist, the owners announced that the monkeys married in a secret ceremony deep in the woods. Forest rangers captured the newlyweds, but Ramesh told Stuff that he is confident they will return.

"I know my son Raju, with his wife Chinki, will come back home," Ramesh said. "I will have a big reception for them."

Comments

[cpauldin]

03:31 PM on 07/16/2011

Calling Carl Pilkington!

[AllyCat7]

01:28 PM on 07/13/2011

Ok, this is kinda cute :)

[Tenjikuronin]

02:58 AM on 07/13/2011

This story is fake.

[kfwyatt]

11:27 PM on 07/12/2011

So, do the monkeys know they are married?

[geomcd]

04:04 PM on 07/12/2011

Makes more sense than same sex so called marriage.

[eddinsrp]

09:18 AM on 07/12/2011

Ms. Hibbard, in case you are interested in knowing correct terms, the language is Hindi and the religion is Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma is the actual name) and its rituals are called Hindu rituals. "Hindi rituals" do not exist.

The essence of the story should be a man without children adopting a monkey and giving it love he would have given to his offsprings. He realises that his dream of his son getting married one day can not come true since he has no offsprings. He takes those feelings and projects them onto the adopted being (monkey) and gives him a wedding and shares the ocassion with friends and family. Here in the US, people adopt dogs, cats and other creatures and treat them like a family member and if the pet dies, they bury his or her body underground (Christian and Muslim ceremony). One can safely say that it is common across the globe for some people to treat animals like a family member whether it is in India or in the United States. How so very human of us!

[SmartladyDem]

10:52 PM on 07/11/2011

I didn't know John B. got married again.

[shopperben]

05:22 PM on 07/11/2011

well, if monkeys are entitled to a religious marriage,

then they should be entitled to a civil union, especially since they are government property.

[chompchomp]

05:19 PM on 07/11/2011

Oh gee, how adorable. I can't wait until extraterrestrials force *ME* into some bizarre, incomprehensible and terrifying ceremony involving another human. Maybe we shouldn't then be doing this to monkeys or any other species that isn't human, or frankly humans that don't understand and *can't consent to it.*

[synergie]

05:11 PM on 07/11/2011

"Almost hysteric joy" huh? What exactly are "traditional Hindi rituals" anyway?

[socal dj]

05:04 PM on 07/11/2011

Gorilla my dreams...thats what they'll say during the honeymoon!

[Nic the wonder puppy]

05:03 PM on 07/11/2011

And what did they do on their honeymoon?
They monkeyed around

I'm glad I'm a dog

[darquelourd]

04:58 PM on 07/11/2011

Look Closely People - This is What Happens When You Monkey With The Sanctity of Marriage

[Basil Fawlty]

04:58 PM on 07/11/2011

"In the small village of Talwas, Rajasthan, Raju, a well-known cigarette smoking monkey, and his bride Chinki were married, according to Stuff......

Meanwhile Mr. Boehner, the name Raju goes by in the United States adamantly refused to return the wedding nuts and bananas until the matter was settled."

[Ashwin Santhanam]

04:45 PM on 07/11/2011

Aah... Marriage - between man and woman as the "lord" intended.

[darquelourd]

04:59 PM on 07/11/2011

Personally, I want to know more about the guy who wed the female dog