Human–animal marriage is a marriage between an animal and a human. This topic has appeared in mythology and magical fiction. In the 21st century there have been numerous reports from around the world of humans marrying their pets and other animals. Human–animal marriage is often seen in accordance with

zoophilia Zoophilia is a paraphilia involving a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality is cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. The terms are often used interchangeably, but some researchers make a distinction b ...

, although they are not necessarily linked. Although animal-human marriage is not mentioned specifically in national laws, the act of engaging in sexual acts with an animal is illegal in many countries under animal abuse laws.

Animal–human marriage in folklore

The practice of animal-human marriage has made appearances in folklore and several mythological stories where it is often understood to mean a deity-human marriage involving gods or heroes. Many tribes of the

Native Americans in the United States Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States ( Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United State ...

trace the origin of humanity to marriages between other animals and humans. The indigenous

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

have a story of animal-human marriage in "The Girl who Married a Dog". In other Native American myths, animal spirits frequently assume human form. In many cases they are not seen as literal animals, but representatives from the animal kingdom. The Chinese folktale "The Goddess of the Silkworm" is an example of a tale where a woman marries a horse. A similar Irish legend tells of a king who marries a horse, symbolizing a divine union between the king and the goddess of the land. The most famous animal as bridegroom story that has survived in modern times is

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve. famous According to

Bernard Sergent Bernard Sergent (; born 23 February 1946) is a French ancient historian and comparative mythologist. He is researcher of the CNRS and president of the Société de mythologie française. Publications He has written a seminal work on Greek mytho ...

, "human–animal marriage is an union that is too remote as incest is a too close one. Compared to a balanced marriage, between humans but from another clan or another village, that is to say–depending on the society–within the framework of a well measured

endogamy Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

exogamy Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups c ...

, incest transgresses the norm because it is an exaggerated endogamy, and animal marriage transgresses it because it is an exaggerated exogamy."

Animal–human marriage in modernity

In many if not most jurisdictions there is no legal precedent for marrying an animal, however, several individuals claim to have done so. In 1992 an American man named Mark Matthews married his horse. He wrote a memoir describing the concealment of his zoophilia from his Methodist family. In 2005, an American man ordained with the

Universal Life Church The Universal Life Church (ULC) is a non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J. Hensley,James R. Lewis, The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions' (2001), p. 769-70.U.S. Department of the Army, ''Religious R ...

married humans and their pets. A British woman who married her dog created the website MarryYourPet.com after she became ordained to marry humans with their pets and has performed about 100 ceremonies. In 2005, another British woman reportedly married a dolphin. The

Sudanese goat marriage incident In 2006, a South Sudanese man named Charles Tombe was forced to "marry" a goat with which he was caught engaging in sexual activity, in the Hai Malakal suburb of Juba, at the time part of Sudan. The owner of the goat subdued the perpetrator and as ...

made big headlines in 2006 when a man was forced to marry a goat after being caught in a sexual interaction with the goat. Other reports of marriage include animals such as dogs, cats, frogs, and a dolphin. Other incidents of human animal relations took place in 2010, when 18-year-old Balinese man Ngurah Alit was found having sexual intercourse with a cow, who he claimed flirted with him. As part of a Pecaruan ritual, the man was forced to marry the animal. The ceremony was thought to cleanse the village of the immoral act of bestiality. The cow was drowned in the ocean, while Alit's clothes were symbolically submerged in the sea as well. In 2013 a Brazilian man reportedly married a goat in a Satanic church after his plan was rejected by his evangelical church. In 2014, a man reportedly married his pet dog at Chapel of Our Lady at the Presidio in San Francisco, which was an Episcopal chapel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Human-Animal Marriage Animals and humans Animal law Marriage

Animal–human marriage in folklore

Animal–human marriage in modernity

See also

References