Would you get married to a tree? This is how it happens: two individuals meet each other, fall in love, the date for a while and finally decide
the date of their wedding. Most often the wedding is one of those happiest days people remember their whole life.
Depending on where you are from, your wedding ceremony will differ from other cultures. There are particular rituals that only Christians
use that may be different from those of Chinese or Indians. The latter presents a special interest because India has always been famous
for its old ritual culture and cast history.
So, what is so interesting about Indian weddings? It turns out that Indians pay special attention to astrological compatibility. If a bride is
born “Manglik,” or Mars-bearing, she is considered to be cursed and cause early death to her husband. According to an old Hindu custom,
the only way to break the curse for a bride is to marry a peepal or banana tree! Yes, a tree!!! The tree is then destroyed, and the curse is
broken. A bride can also marry a silver or golden idol of the Hindu God Vishnu.
The current Indian constitution, however, assesses such practices as illegal because they believed to violate the rights of women, who are
already oppressed enough in the country.
There was even a lawsuit filed against Aishwarya Rai, the Indian film star and a former Miss World, for following this tradition and marrying
a tree. Apparently, her astrological sign was incompatible with that of her fiancé, Abhishek Bachchan, a Bollywood star.
The Indian human rights activists, who filed the lawsuit, demanded Miss Rai and her family to offer a public apology for promoting the caste
system and contributing to further violations of women’s rights in the country.
The tradition of marrying a tree refers to untouchability, a practice when a group segregates itself from the mainstream by rejecting change
of customs. Untouchables are also the lowest cast in India.
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