Bhubaneswar, April 7: In Aparna Sen?s Sati, Shabana Azmi played a woman who had to marry a tree because of a faulty astrological chart.

In real-life Bhubaneswar, a five-year-old girl, Kuni, was yesterday married off to a dog to prevent her from ?being devoured by a tiger?. The ?marriage? took place in the presence of about 200 people, mostly slum-dwellers.

The dog, Mantu, patiently sat through the ?ceremony? beside the bride. Organised by two Munda families ? one the girl?s and the other which owned the dog ? the ceremony was held at a slum in the capital.

The ?couple? first ?exchanged? rings and the groom applied vermilion on the girl?s forehead with a leg while a priest chanted hymns.

The couple sat in new clothes as the guests feasted and danced to the beat of drums and cymbals. The tribal women smeared vermilion and turmeric paste on Kuni and Mantu.

The marriage ceremony was facilitated by Utkal Bikash Mancha, an NGO which works among tribals in the state. Justifying the marriage, an office-bearer of the NGO said they were trying to preserve the primitive culture of the tribals through the ceremony.

After her birth, Kuni developed some ?abnormality? in the growth of her teeth and the tradition in the tribal-dominated slum cluster in Palasuni ordained that she undergo the ritual.

?If a girl?s first tooth appears on the upper gum, she is believed to be in danger of being killed by a carnivorous animal. It can be warded off only if the girl marries a dog,? said Naveen Munda, the father of the girl, adding, ?our community will allow the girl to remarry a tribal boy after growing up. But for now, I had to conduct this marriage to save my daughter.?

?There is nothing wrong with it,? said Raghunath Munda, the owner of the dog.

The Mundas of Orissa mainly live in the northern districts of Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Mayurbhanj.

Last month, Dugi, a 13-year-old girl from Keonjhar, had revolted against her marriage to a 50-year-old man. According to tribal practice, a boy selects the girl he wants to marry by applying vermilion on her forehead. The girl is expected to comply irrespective of her preferences.