Biswanath, March 18
Amidst the ongoing problem of drought in Assam, locals of Adarsha Gorehagi village in Biswanath district have resorted to age-old ways to please the rain gods; marrying of frogs in a ceremony with proper rituals.
The ceremony, also known as 'Bhekuli Biya', saw enthusiastic participation from villagers of all ages as they fervently hoped for the skies to open up and bring relief to their drought-stricken lands.
The prolonged absence of rainfall has cast a shadow of distress over the agricultural community in the state, where farmers are grappling with the harsh realities of drought and dust storms.
A frog wedding is an ancient ceremony that involves marrying wild frogs with traditional rituals to please the rain god to get relief from the drought-like situation.
The people present there asserted that the ritual will certainly work and they will get respite from this situation.
"There is no water in ponds. There is no food for cattle and goats. Facing a drought-like condition, 700 families of Gorehagi village conducted frog marriage," a local woman told ANI.
"There has been no rainfall from the past many days and due to non-availability of rain many trees are dying, and the paddy fields are dry. The farmers are facing massive problems. So, the villagers of Gorhagi village have decided to conduct frog marriage and it is our tradition. As our ancestors suggested, we have decided to perform frog marriage with proper rituals and all villagers have participated," a local youth said.