'Magic pythons' married in Cambodia to bring luck

The two-hour ceremony ended with two Buddhist monks blessing the snake couple

Last updated: September 16, 2018 | 00:04

1 MIN READ

AFP

Svay Rolum: Hundreds of villagers in Cambodia have flocked to a wedding ceremony between a 4.8-metre, 90-kilogram female python and her slightly smaller snake mate.

Fortunetellers believe the pythons are magic snakes that bring prosperity and peace to the village.

The two-hour ceremony on Monday ended with two Buddhist monks blessing the snake couple as villagers showered them with flowers and wedding music played.

Most Cambodians, who are almost all Buddhists, also subscribe to animism - a belief that spirits can inhabit all sorts of living and inanimate objects.

Whenever an odd animal makes an appearance, it is cause for the superstitious to celebrate.

Male python Krong Pich (top) and female python Chamroeun (bottom) lie in a cage after their wedding ceremony at Svay Rolum village, Kandal province in Cambodia.

A relative to the python's owner (right) ties the holly red ribbon to a villager after the python's wedding ceremony at Svay Rolum village, Kandal province in Cambodia. Hundreds of Cambodians organised the ceremony to a pair of what they believed are magic pythons to ask for prosperity and safety.

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox