Boy, 8, marries woman, 61 in South Africa

One of the world's most bizarre weddings has taken place in South Africa, where an eight-year-old boy has tied the knot with a 61-year-old woman.

Sanele Masilela is even thought to have come up with the idea to get hitched with his much older partner, Helen Shabangu.

Mrs Shabangu already has five children and a husband, but as the ceremony was just a ritual she has not broken the country's polygamy laws.

The wedding is believed to have occurred at the instruction of ancestors who wanted the little boy to find a wife.

"I'm married and have five kids of my own, but I know that this is what the ancestors wanted and now they're happy. It is a ritual. We are just playing now," Ms Shabangu stated.

Sanele added that he still hopes he will one day tie the knot officially with a girl closer to his own age.