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Yerramandalam, Andhra Pradesh, Jun 24: The people of Yerramandalam village in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district are busy organising and attending wedding nowadays: weddings of frogs.

The monsoon came early this year, but Andhra Pradesh is still waiting for its share of rains. Yerramandalam’s people believe that it will rain if they please frogs by getting them married. Frog weddings are a tradition here and the events are a serious affair.
A mahurth (auspicious occasion) is set for a wedding and the bride and groom are dressed in clothes dipped in turmeric. The entire village is invited for the ritual, which people say determines more than just rains in the region.
“We are all agriculture dependant people and this the time to start farming. So for a good crop, we need good rains and for that we perform frog marriages,” says P Lakshmi, a resident of Yerramandalam.

Villagers sprinkle haldi and kumkum on the bride and groom and then take them out in a procession. Two young boys are selected to cart the sacred couple who stop before every house in the village. Families pay their respect to the couple by showering them with water.

"For ages now we have believed that if perform these weddings we will have good monsoon. If we get the frogs wedded, then the Varuna god will bless us with showers," says N Chandramma.

Yerramandalam’s people don’t believe this is superstition. "Even in this hi-tech era, we have strong belief in this tradition. It may look like superstition but once we perform the weddings we get good rains," says Krishna Murthy, president of the village panchayat.

The wedding ends with three women releasing the couple in a pond. Prayers are said and there is a shower of flowers. The couple begins their honey honeymoon and the village is sure now it will rain. "Today we performed the wedding and we are hopeful rains will soon lash our village," says Lakshmi.