Opinions
Veteran: You Fought for Your Country, Now Set Yourself Free
Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have fallen in the service of ...
War
Christian War Veteran Talks NATO Protest, War, Faith and Peace
Jacob George, a Christian war veteran who served three tours of duty in ...
Column
Hypnosis and Yoga Open Hidden Spiritual Doors
Hypnosis and yoga are a couple of mystical practices which have basically gone ...
Pastors
Seven Keys to Preventing Pastoral Burnout
I have the incredible opportunity to interact with pastors regularly. In recent ...
A tribal cult leader in Mizoram, India has fathered nearly 100 children and married close to 40 women. However, the Hindustan Times reported that he’s not finished procreating yet. Plus, he hopes to tie the knot with new women.
According to the Indian News Service, 67-year-old Zionnghaka Chana isn’t content with his 33 grandchildren. Not only does he want to be a grandfather again and again, he’s hoping to expand his roles as husband and father.
According to Indian News Service, Chana’s family lives together in the village of Baktawng where all the community members belong to one single family of 181 members. They all live together in a 100 room four-storied building where the youngest wife sleeps next to Zionnghaka’s bedroom with the remainder of the wives operating on a rotation system to share his bedroom.
Zionnghaka’s pool of potential women to marry is a large one.
"I can travel beyond the borders of Mizoram or even India to marry as that would help me to expand my family," contented Zionnghaka told IANS.
IANS reports that the family belongs to a cult called Channa named after Zionnghaka’s father Challianchana who died in 1997. Started in the early 1930s, the cult has about 1,700 members and has spread over four generations.
Like us on Facebook
Nunparliana, one of Zionghaka’s sons, told IANS: "We are all happy and like any other church we believe in the existence of god but the only distinctive difference is that our denomination allows us to marry more than one wife.”
But prominent Presbyterian Church leaders reject the cult's claims to be Christians.
"Christianity does not allow polygamy and hence accepting the cult as Christian does not arise at all. Polygamy is very rare in Mizoram," said a Presbyterian Synod leader in Mizoram capital Aizawl.
The majority of Baktawng community members make a living by carving out wooden furniture and pottery items for the people of Mizoram. According to IANS, the village is perched on a hilltop.
While there was no specific record showing the total amount of children Challianchana had, Zionnghaka was the eldest. It is believed that his father had 50 wives.
Christians account for 88 percent of Mizoram’s 1 million population. Mizoram is India’s third highest literate state bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh.
247
