The small town of San Pedro Huamelula is located in the South of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. There are 2,247 inhabitants.

According to a tradition from the year 1789, if the mayor of the village marries a female crocodile, the local fishermen of San Pedro Huamelula will get good luck and prosperity, obtaining huge catches of shrimp and seafood from the Pacific coast in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

The reptile is first baptized through a traditional ceremony, and given a regular female name (Isabel, Carmen, …). Previously, the bride has been dressed in white with a flower crown on its head, and the crowd starts a parade around town with music before a ceremony takes place.

After the wedding, a big party is held, and then the new wife changes her clothings into more colorful attire, starting to dance around the floor with her new husband.

The ceremony tries to symbolize the union of two ancient indigenous groups, the Chontales and the Huaves or Mareños. Some centuries ago, when the Mareños reached the land of the original Chontales, a big conflig conflict arose between the two societies. According to ancient stories, the war ended when the daughter of the king of the Mareños fell in love with the son of the king of the Chontales (people living originally in the region), and both got married.

If you visit San Pedro Huamelula in late June (during San Pedro festivities), you can find and watch this wedding between the mayor and crocodile.

Video with the whole ceremony: