In Thailand, five-year-old twins were married to fulfill a superstitious Buddhist belief that they were lovers in a former life.
On March 4, Washirawit Bee Moosika and his sister Rinrada Breem had the wedding ceremony at home in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Their parents, Weerasak, 31, and wife Rewadee, 30, both follow Buddhist teachings that claim that all twins are born because they have ‘karma’ from a past life in which they were lovers whose relationship ended before they could get married.
The couple invited friends and relatives to witness their twin’s marriage.
“I feel so lucky to have twins but I’m concerned that there is something following them from their previous lives,” Rewadee proudly said. “Our belief is that they should be married in order to clear that karma.”
Their son and daughter’s colorful wedding ceremony followed a traditional Thai wedding with parades, dancing, and offering of dowries from close relatives.
A Buddhist monk was also present to chant blessings during the twins’ unusual wedding.
After the wedding ceremony, the parents, the newlyweds, and their guests had a dancing party while festive music played in the background.
Weerasak said they had no choice but to arrange the wedding of their children as Thai superstitious beliefs suggest that one of the twins will get sick unless they get married.
“We believe that if your children were born twins who have a different gender, they must be married or else one of them will fall ill later in their lives,” he said.
The proud father added that their twins were lovers in their previous lives so they need to fulfill their wedding wish so that their children grow up healthy and happy.
“We are only doing this to make sure our children are safe,” Weesarak added. “We do not want them to be sick and there is nothing to lose if we follow this belief.”
On an important note, the twin’s marriage was not legally valid and was only done for ceremonial purposes.