The largest family in the world lives in the village of Baktawng, in the state of Mizoram, India. The family has, no more, no less than 199 members living in the same house.
Pu Ziona was the one who laid the foundations of this family which is the largest in the world. He had 38 wives and 89 children, who in turn had children. Ziona died in 2021 at the age of 76, but his family continues to live in the same house he built in the hills of Baktawng, writes The Straits Times. Some of his children married one woman, others married several, so that the number of family members now reached 199.
Pu Ziona founded and led a Christian sect known as Chhuan Thar Kohhran (Church of the New Generation) and was regarded by many as a prophet and a “chosen of God”. Chhuan Thar Kohhran allows polygamy, and the sect’s 2,600 members, most of whom live in Baktawng, believe in a post-apocalyptic “golden age” in which they will be spared divine wrath and given special privileges.
Pu Zona’s family owns a farm with 100 pigs, farmland, four carpentry workshops and a blacksmith shop where all family members work. Preparing the two daily meals is a Sisyphean task. At least 80 kilograms of rice are usually used in addition to other ingredients, and the food is cooked in huge cauldrons.