11-18-2005, 01:41 AM
Pioneer.com
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>100 kids, 15 wives, one man </b>
Syed Zarir Hussain / Baktawng (Mizoram)
A tribal Christian cult leader in Mizoram could well claim a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records - 15 wives and more than 100 children staying together.
<b>"My father was married to 15 wives and we have more than 100 brothers and sisters although I am not sure about the exact number. Maybe it could more than a hundred but definitely not less,"</b> 45-year-old Nunparliana, the eldest of the siblings, said.
The head of the family, 70-year-old Zionnghaka, is in good health although he prefers to shy away from the outside world and leads a solitary life inside their hilltop commune of Baktawng, a tiny village 70 kilometres south of Mizoram's capital, Aizawl.
Three of Zionnghaka's wives deserted him and as many of them have died. The family practices a Christian cult called 'Channa' named after Zionnghaka's father, Challianchana, who died in 1997.
Challianchana was believed to have 50 wives with Zionnghaka being the eldest of his many children - there is no count available of the number of children Challianchana had.
The Channa cult founded by Challianchana sometime in the early 1930s is now spread over four generations and boasts of having some 1,600 members.
<b>"We are all happy and like any other churches we believe in the existence of God but the only distinctive difference is that our denomination allows us to marry more than one wife,"</b> Nunparliana said.
From a playground to a school and a church, the village of Baktawng resembles any other tribal village but for the fact that the community members belong to one single family. Most of the community members are today known across Mizoram for their skills in carving out wooden furniture and pottery items.
The circumstances leading to the establishment of the cult was as bizarre as the traditions and practices followed by the Channa sect whose ancestors worshipped a traditional drum called the 'Khuang' until the arrival of the Welsh missionaries.
<b>"The Welsh missionaries banned the worship of the Khuang and upset over this, my grandfather Challianchana and his brother severed ties and founded this sect whom we call either Channa or the Lalpa Kohhran," </b>another community member said.
But church leaders, Presbyterian being the dominant denomination, reject the cult's claims to be Christians.
"Christianity does not allow polygamy and hence accepting the cult as Christians does not arise at all. Polygamy is very rare in Mizoram," Reverend Lalvirinawma, moderator of the Presbyterian Synod in Aizawl, said.
<b>There are an estimated 95 different Christian cults in Mizoram with strange practices - some of them do not allow their children to mingle with others and attend schools, while some of the sect claims their members to be Gods.</b>
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Same in US.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>100 kids, 15 wives, one man </b>
Syed Zarir Hussain / Baktawng (Mizoram)
A tribal Christian cult leader in Mizoram could well claim a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records - 15 wives and more than 100 children staying together.
<b>"My father was married to 15 wives and we have more than 100 brothers and sisters although I am not sure about the exact number. Maybe it could more than a hundred but definitely not less,"</b> 45-year-old Nunparliana, the eldest of the siblings, said.
The head of the family, 70-year-old Zionnghaka, is in good health although he prefers to shy away from the outside world and leads a solitary life inside their hilltop commune of Baktawng, a tiny village 70 kilometres south of Mizoram's capital, Aizawl.
Three of Zionnghaka's wives deserted him and as many of them have died. The family practices a Christian cult called 'Channa' named after Zionnghaka's father, Challianchana, who died in 1997.
Challianchana was believed to have 50 wives with Zionnghaka being the eldest of his many children - there is no count available of the number of children Challianchana had.
The Channa cult founded by Challianchana sometime in the early 1930s is now spread over four generations and boasts of having some 1,600 members.
<b>"We are all happy and like any other churches we believe in the existence of God but the only distinctive difference is that our denomination allows us to marry more than one wife,"</b> Nunparliana said.
From a playground to a school and a church, the village of Baktawng resembles any other tribal village but for the fact that the community members belong to one single family. Most of the community members are today known across Mizoram for their skills in carving out wooden furniture and pottery items.
The circumstances leading to the establishment of the cult was as bizarre as the traditions and practices followed by the Channa sect whose ancestors worshipped a traditional drum called the 'Khuang' until the arrival of the Welsh missionaries.
<b>"The Welsh missionaries banned the worship of the Khuang and upset over this, my grandfather Challianchana and his brother severed ties and founded this sect whom we call either Channa or the Lalpa Kohhran," </b>another community member said.
But church leaders, Presbyterian being the dominant denomination, reject the cult's claims to be Christians.
"Christianity does not allow polygamy and hence accepting the cult as Christians does not arise at all. Polygamy is very rare in Mizoram," Reverend Lalvirinawma, moderator of the Presbyterian Synod in Aizawl, said.
<b>There are an estimated 95 different Christian cults in Mizoram with strange practices - some of them do not allow their children to mingle with others and attend schools, while some of the sect claims their members to be Gods.</b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Same in US.