It’s the first gigantic snake wedding of the New Year! In the photo, a six-year-old boy plays with the family python,a snake similar in size to the ‘bride’ in the following story.
Hundreds of villagers in Svay Rolum village which is just south of Phnom Penh, attended the festive two-hour Buddhist wedding ceremony Monday between a 16-foot (4.8-meter), 200-pound (90-kilogram) female python and her slightly smaller mate. Both snakes are believed to be magical, and capable of granting the village prosperity and safety, the latter being a word not generally associated by this writer with large snakes.
"We were told (by fortunetellers) that the two pythons are husband and wife and they need to live together, and if we don’t marry them we will meet bad luck," said Neth Vy, who found the then-tiny python while fishing 16 years ago. He said since the snake became part of the household, the family’s living conditions had steadily improved and no misfortune had befallen them.
The male python, named Kroung Pich, was caught 12 days ago by Hin Mao, a 44-year-old, childless woman who said she regarded it as her son. There are no reports about the feelings of the couple regarding their arranged marriage, or which in-laws will have the honor of sharing a home with the newlyweds.