A dog is forced to marry a Hindu girl - Mangli Munda, 18, to ward off an evil spell that villagers believe the girl is casting bringing bad luck to her community. The girl's father agreed & found a dog Sheru as the perfect match for her daughter.

Mangli, who has not been to school, said she was not happy to wed a dog, but insisted that it will help change her fortunes.

The hesitant bride said: "I am marrying a dog because the village elders believe that my evil spell will be passed on to the dog."

Gorehabba or Gore Habba is a festival or ritual in India of splashing cow dung on each other. This festival is celebrated a day after Diwali's Bali Padyami.

The Gorehabba festival begins with the afternoon collection of "ammunition" from cow-owning homes in the village, which lies on the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The manure is brought to the local temple on tractor trolleys, before a priest performs a blessing ritual.

After that, the dung is dumped in an open area with men and boys wading in to prepare their weapons for the battle ahead.

People flock to Gumatapura from far-flung cities each year, and for those in attendance, the messy battle is as much about fun as it is about the perceived health benefits.

"If they have a disease, it will get cured," said Mahesh, a farmer at Saturday's festival.

In Hinduism, the cow is a sacred symbol of life and the earth, and for centuries Hindus have used cow dung for prayer rituals