Unusual marriage ceremonies around the world

Unusual marriage ceremonies around the world

Mauritania

Superstitions - the belief that there is some unknown force or power that can affect a person's life. It cannot be understood or explained. Superstitious people usually fear this power.

Squeezing - pressing something hard

Tongs -a tool used for picking things up, that has two pieces joined together at one end

In Mauritania, the bigger a girl is, the more attractive she becomes. This is why parents send their daughters, who are only five years old, to “fat camps” in the summer to gain weight. This tradition is known as Lablu. Girls have to eat an absurd amount of food, and if she refuses to eat, she is punished by squeezing her toes with special tongs. Sometimes this leads to a fracture. These girls are believed to consume more than 10, 000 calories a day. Mauritanians believe that a woman's size indicates the place she occupies in her husband's heart. A woman's size also indicates her husband's wealth. The richer he is, the bigger wife he can afford.