Man, 38 wives and 94 children

Largest family

Ziona, 66, the head of the family and leader of the “Chana” sect, alone has 38 wives and 94 children, of which many have married and who have their own children. They all live together in a RCC building named “Chhuan That Run” or the House of the New Generation.

The sect called “Ziona Ka Pa” or Father, believes in “Kum Sang Rorel” or the rule of one thousand years by Christ on earth as foretold in the Bible’s Revelation Chapter 20 and that they would be soon ruling the world with Christ.

One of Ziona’s wives said that though their sons lived in different rooms in the building, they all shared the kitchen where they cooked for the entire family.“We prepare 30 to 35 kg  of pork when we want to eat meat and require around 50 kg of rice for dinner,” she said.

The baton of Chana, who led the sect till his death on February 27, 1997, was taken over by his eldest son Ziona, whose name depicts the returning of the Jews to their homeland in the 1940s.

Chana was reported to have had more wives than Ziona as the sect founder Khuangtuaha, elder brother of Chana, believed in a liberal theology.

The members of the sect numbering almost 3,000 live in nearly 350 houses.
A majority of the sect members reside in Baktawng village and have a separate locality called Baktawng Tlangnuam while many also lived in capital Aizawl and other places.
One-tenth of their monthly earnings goes into the development of the sect and the community, which practises a blend of democracy and communism.

Earlier known as Khuangtuaha Pawl, the sect was formed on June 12, 1942, after the followers of Khuangtuaha were evicted from Hmawngkawn village by the village chief for propagating “wrong and dangerous” theology. The sect, till today, celebrates the “Bawkte Kut” or the festival of the hut on June 12 every year to commemorate the formal formation of the sect.