Monkey Marriage In India Forces Owners, Monkeys Into Hiding

It may seem like a scene straight out of Bollywood, but a monkey marriage in India has caused some real-world trouble.

The marriage, which was not one of love but more of a "traditional" arranged relationship, couldn't exactly be public knowledge. According to Reuters, the couple was forced into hiding after the announced wedding began garnering more and more attention.

From Reuters:

Hundreds of invitation cards were sent out to nearby villages for the wedding, planned according to traditional Hindu customs that include seven rounds of the sacred fire as the wedding vows are recited by a priest. A huge pre-wedding feast was planned, along with a procession with Raju on a horse.

As it turns out, the animal marriage was more than illegal, officials told TIME. The 1972 Wildlife Protection Act makes it illegal to pet or train monkeys at all, and, though the law may not always be followed, the wedding was certainly off limits.

So the wedding went into hiding. The monkeys, Raju (the groom) and Chinki (the bride) were married deep in the forest after authorities flooded the village on the proposed day of the nuptials.

Despite the super secret ceremony, both monkeys have since been found by authorities, who plan to release them into the wild, according to TIME. It seems the traditional vermillion mark of marriage on Chinki's forehead gave her away after authorities found her chained to a tree.

However, it seems this is not the first time two monkeys have been wed in India. In February 2008, a similar marriage took place and was met with much less animosity, according to the Telegraph. But in that case, the two monkeys were freed from captivity following the ceremony.