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| death_place = [[Aizawl]], [[Mizoram]], India
| death_place = [[Aizawl]], [[Mizoram]], India
| death_cause = <!--should only be included when the cause of death has significance for the subject's notability-->
| death_cause = <!--should only be included when the cause of death has significance for the subject's notability-->
| spouses = 38
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Revision as of 12:57, 16 June 2021

For the Israeli artist, see Siona Shimshi.

Ziona
Born
Zionnghaka

(1945-07-21)21 July 1945
Baktawng village, Mizoram, British India
Died13 June 2021(2021-06-13) (aged 75)
Aizawl, Mizoram, India
EmployerSelf employed
Known forFathering the largest living family
Spouses39
Children94

Ziona (21 July 1945 – 13 June 2021)[1] was the leader of Chana Pâwl, a polygamy-practising Christian sect in Mizoram, India.[2][3] He was often attributed to as a world record holder for being the head of the "world's largest existing family"[4][5] or the "world's biggest family."[6] In 2011, as officials of the Guinness World Records made verification, he refused the world record title as he shunned publicity.[7] His was listed as the "Biggest Family" in the world in 2011 by the World Record Academy,[8] and The Wall Street Journal in 2011,[9] and then by the London World Records in 2019.[10]

The religious sect he led was formed by his grandfather Khuangtuaha in 1942 as a millennialist denomination, which survives in Serchhip district in Mizoram state of India, sharing borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar.[11] After eviction from Hmawngkawn village, the sect settled in Baktawng village Mizoram, India, where Ziona was born.[12] Ziona had 39 wives, 94 children, 14 daughters-in-law, 33 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild; 181 family members in total and counting. His family and their four-storeyed residence are one of the major tourist attractions in Mizoram.[13][14] He was featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! top 11 strangest stories for the year 2011,[15] and in 2013's Ripley Believe It or Not book 9.[16][17][18]

Life and family

Ziona was born Zionnghaka[19] on 21 July 1945 at Baktawng village in Serchhip district, which is 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the south of Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram. He is popularly known among the Mizo natives as Pu Ziona,[20][21][13] and commonly misnamed in the non-native media as Ziona Chana.[2][22][12] His father was Chana, leader of the Christian sect, Chana Pâwl. He married Zathiangi, his first wife, who is older than him by three years, at the age of 17.[5] Zathangi controls the household activities of the family with strict discipline.[16] After Chana's death on 27 February 1997, he was elected as the successor.[23] The sect called him by the title "Hotupa" (literally meaning leader or master).[24] By the time he took up the leadership, he already had more wives than his father.[23] He married ten of his wives in the span of one year.[17]

Ziona built a four-storied mansion which appears like a boarding house, to accommodate his large family.[16] The house is called the "Chhuan Thar Run" or the House of the New Generation and is located in the mountainous village of Baktawng.[12] There is also a 'Khualbuk' or a guesthouse to accommodate visitors coming to the village.[22] Ziona had a double bedroom in the ground floor of this mansion and his wives took turns to sleep with him according to a roster. His younger wives stayed close to his room on the same floor and there were always seven to eight wives attending to his needs during the day. All older wives live in the dormitories on the first floor of the mansion, while his younger wives live on the ground floor. His wives claim that there is no rivalry among them.[16][11][12] Of his 39 wives, 22 are below the age of 40 and they got a week to spend with him.[25] He has 26 sons-in-law and his daughters live separately with their families. He said that he has named all his children and grandchildren and he remembered the names of every member of his family.[25] He married his last wife in 2004.[14]

Ziona's family is self-reliant, growing crops for their food requirements. He has also established a school for his children, and his younger brother looks after its functioning. Though teaching in the school is based on a curriculum prescribed by the government, he has added some subjects specific to his Chana sect. He did not seek any assistance from the government.[26]

Ziona's wives do the cooking, and his daughters attend to cleaning of the house and take care of washing laundry. Men of the family attend to livestock rearing, agriculture (jhum cultivation), small cottage industries of wood furniture (carpentry), aluminum utensil making, and so forth.[22][11][25]

Ziona's 68th birthday was celebrated on 21 July 2013 with 150 guests.[22]

Later life and death

At age 75, Ziona was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes mellitus.[27][28] On 7 June 2021, he became seriously ill and became unconscious on 11 June. Doctors at Baktawng found that he was having anaemia.[1] Under critical condition, he was brought to Trinity Hospital at Aizawl in the afternoon of 13 June (Sunday).[29] He was already unconscious when they reached the hospital at around 2:30 p.m., and was revived briefly using CPR.[30] He died after 10 minutes of admission to the hospital. He was survived by 38 wives, 89 children and 33 grandchildren.[1]

Announcing his death, Chief Minister of Mizoram, Zoramthanga posted on Tweeter, and said:

With heavy heart, Mizoram bid farewell to Mr. Zion-a (76), believed to head the world's largest family, with 38 wives and 89 children. Mizoram and his village at Baktawng Tlangnuam has become a major tourist attraction in the state because of the family. Rest in Peace Sir![2][31]

Religious faith

Ziona was chief of the group known as Chana Pâwl (Pâwl means sect, group, or organization), a Christian sect that practices polygamy.[11][17] His grandfather (or father's elder brother[11]) Khuangtuaha founded the sect on 12 June 1942 at Hmawngkawn village, and was originally named Khuangtuaha Pâwl.[24][32] At the time the mainstream Christian church in Mizoram objected to pagan practices to use in Christian worship, including the use of traditional drum called khuang. Khuangtuaha Pawl believed that the drum was harmless and adopted it as one of the key instruments for worship. The sect also advocated millennialism by accepting the literal event of Bible's Revelation Chapter 20 to "Kum Sang Rorel" or the rule of 1,000 years by Jesus Christ on Earth.[33] The Presbyterian Church excommunicated them, and following suit, the Chief of Hmawngkawn banished them for propagating a theology considered "wrong and dangerous".[33] The sect moved to and settled in Baktawng. After Khuangtuaha's death, his son Chana inherited the sect leadership.[30] The sect then renamed themselves Chana Pâwl,[24] but they use "Lalpa Kohhran" (meaning "The Lord's Church") formally for their denomination.[23] The sect celebrates its founding day as "Bawkte Kut" or the festival of the hut on 12 June every year. Members of the sect number about 2,000 who reside in the Baktawng Tlangnuam village.[22]

World record

Although it is popularly reported that Ziona is the world record holder as heading the biggest family in the Guinness World Records,[34][23] even in the government information,[21][13] it is not included in the Guinness.[7] (Guinness has no record for biggest/largest human family.[2][35]) In 2007, he was proposed for entry into the Guinness, but as the officials visited him, he refused to give away his photograph.[36] In 2011, he explained to a CNN reporter, the reason he declined the record was that "he doesn't want the publicity."[7]

Ziona's family is recorded by the World Record Academy as setting the world record for the "Biggest Family". At the time of the record entry in 2011, Ziona had 39 wives, 94 children, 14-daughters-in-laws and 33 grandchildren.[8] The same year, The Wall Street Journal listed the family as "The Biggest Family in the World".[9] Ziona is listed as "head of the world’s biggest family" in the London World Records in 2019.[10]

In 2011, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, while recording Ziona's family as the largest living family in the world, observed: "It's a safe bet that Ziona Chana would not be impressed watching 19 Kids and Counting or Sister Wives. The 75-year-old Indian man had 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild."[15] Ziona and his family was included in 2013's Ripley Believe It or Not book 9.[17][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c Nath, Hemanta Kumar (13 June 2021). "Mizoram's Ziona Chana, head of world's largest family, passes away at 76". India Today. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c d "Ziona Chana: Head of 'world's largest family' dies in India's Mizoram state". BBC News. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  3. ^ Gupta, Swati; Rahim, Zamira (14 June 2021). "The head of the 'world's biggest family' has died at age 76". CNN. Retrieved 16 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Panwar, Sanya (3 March 2016). "Travelling to Mizoram: Why you must make plans (Like right now!)". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b Delhi, Amrit Dhillon (14 June 2021). "Ziona Chana, head of 'world's largest family', dies — leaving 38 widows". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  6. ^ McCoy, Terrence (14 April 2014). "Indian politicians court man with 'world's biggest family:' 39 wives, 127 offspring". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Udas, Sumnima (31 October 2011). "Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family". CNN. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ a b "Biggest family: Ziona Chana has 39 wifes and 94 children: a world record (Video)". www.worldrecordacademy.com. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b Abidi, Adnan (21 October 2011). "The Biggest Family in the World". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b Kumar, Naveen (13 March 2019). "The world's biggest family: The man with 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren". London World Records. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Man has 39 wives, nearly 100 children". Reuters. 22 February 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d "Family: Ziona Chana has 39 wifes and 94 children: a world record (Video)". Worldrecord Academy. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  13. ^ a b c "Places of Interest | Serchhip District, Government of Mizoram | India". Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  14. ^ a b Chaturvedi, Amit (15 June 2021). "Family of Mizoram's Ziona claims he's still alive, refuses to perform last rites". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 16 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ a b "Indian with 39 wives, 94 kids is the strangest story of 2011". The Hindu. 16 December 2011. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  16. ^ a b c d Gregory, Andrew (21 October 2011). "World's largest family with 181 members live in 100-room, four-storey house in India". The Mirror. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d Ripley's Entertainment Inc. (27 August 2013). Ripley's Special Edition 2014. Scholastic. pp. 42–. ISBN 978-0-545-62260-8.
  18. ^ a b "Reviews in Brief". Ripley's Believe It or Not. Ripley Entertainment Inc. 11 November 2012. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  19. ^ Mazumdar, Jaideep (13 January 2013). "One giant family in Mizoram - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Pu Ziona, Father Of World's Largest Family Dies At 76". Ukhrul Times. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  21. ^ a b "World's Biggest Family in Mizoram". Mizoram Tourism. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ a b c d e "Mizoram man with 39 wives raring to marry again". The Times of India. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  23. ^ a b c d ToMZ (7 August 2017). "World's Largest Family - Ziona, who is believed to head the world's largest family in the world". Times of Mizoram. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ a b c "Man with 160-member family in Mizoram". Deccan Herald. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  25. ^ a b c Koh, Maureen (21 February 2012). "Wife No.39 is 'luckiest woman in the world'". Asiaone. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  26. ^ "They eat 100kg of rice a day". Asiaone. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  27. ^ Parasha, Utpal (13 June 2021). "Mizoram man believed to head world's largest family with 38 wives, 89 kids dies". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ Taneja, Nidhi (13 June 2021). "Ziona Chana, head of 'world's largest family' with 38 wives and 89 children, dies". www.indiatvnews.com.
  29. ^ "Mizoram man, who headed world's largest family with 39 wives and 94 children, passes away at 76". The New Indian Express. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ a b Khojol, Henry L. (13 June 2021). "Head of world's largest family with 39 wives, 94 children passes away". EastMojo. Retrieved 15 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ "Married to 39, patriarch of world's 'largest family' dies in Mizoram". The Times of India. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ "Patriarch of 'world's largest family' with 38 wives and 89 children dies aged 76". The Independent. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  33. ^ a b "Mizo man has 39 wives, 94 children, 33 grandchildren". DNA India. 20 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  34. ^ "Mizoram News | Ziona Chana head of the world's largest family with 38 wives and 89 children passes away | The head of the world's largest family dies, 38 wives and 89 children in the family". Latest India News Today. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  35. ^ Bhattacharjya, Samhati (12 July 2018). "Largest family on Earth? Ukrainian man with 346 living relatives applies for Guinness World Record". International Business Times. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ "A Mizo village of one man, 50 wives, over 100 kids". Hindustan Times. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
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