A young Buddhist couple falling back on an old traditional belief, have married off their twin children on the grounds that they were lovers in their previous lives. The children, 6 years old, were married in a lavish ceremony.
The young boy, nicknamed Guitar, and his sister, Kiwi, were born in September 2012 and their parents immediately knew they would have to get married.
Buddhists believe that male and female twins have ‘karma’ from relationships in a previous life and have been re-born together, because the debt has not been settled. They believe that unless they’re married as quickly as possible, once they’re old enough, they will experience bad luck in the future.
The father of the twin, Amornsan Sunthorn Malirat, 31, and mother, Phacharaporn, 30, arranged a lavish ceremony for their children in Samut Prakan on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand.
Amornsan said: ‘the reason for the marriage ceremony is because we believe that both the children used to be partners in the past life. This is a belief we have inherited from ancient people. We must arrange a wedding for the two twins as a solution to the issues they had before they were re-born. If they are married, they will live healthy and successful lives and not be sick.’
Parts of the ceremony included a traditional ceremony which featured a street procession followed by a game where the groom had to pass through nine ‘gates’ before he could meet the bride. The young boy then had to pay a dowry of 200,000 baht in cash and gold worth the equivalent of £1,000 before marrying her.
The ‘couple’ then posed together with their arms around each other for wedding pictures. Despite them being ‘married’ according to local customs, the ceremony is not legally binding and each of them will still be able to seek out their own partners when they are older.
The children’s mother, Phacharaporn, said: ‘they were both so sweet during their wedding. They will be the best of friends for the rest of their lives. They’ll be able to find their own husband or wife when their older. But this ceremony will always be important for them.’