There are families with more wives and children than those of us in the first world bubble can comprehend. I admit to my own sentiments towards multiple spouses. I an unable to see this as anything other than a relationship based on servitude, which is a few rungs up from slavery.
That makes these stories compellingly strange to me in my first world bubble. Here it is: a family of 181 members - the Ziona Chana family. There are 39 wives, 94 children, 14 daughters-in-law and 33 grandchildren.
Here's the statement about him: "He’s also the leader of the Indian Christian sect called Chana páwl and believes he will soon rule the world along with Jesus." At one point he says that he accumulates wives to grow his sect. Mr Chana told the Sun: 'Today I feel like God's special child. He's given me so many people to look after. "The family is organised with almost military discipline, with the oldest wife Zathiangi organising her fellow partners to perform household chores such as cleaning, washing and preparing meals.
He even married ten women in one year, when he was at his most prolific, and enjoys his own double bed while his wives have to make do with communal dormitories. He keeps the youngest women near to his bedroom with the older members of the family sleeping further away - and there is a rotation system for who visits Mr Chana's bedroom. Rinkmini, one of Mr Chana's wives who is 35 years old, said: 'We stay around him as he is the most important person in the house. He is the most handsome person in the village."
So I seem to be able to rest my case of a story of poor women looking for financial stability. And the end of the article quotes the son saying that his father looks for poor women in the village to support them.
Now onto the first world and the many children stories.
What about other families that are husband and wife? "The Bates are an Evangelical American family from Tennessee with 19 children. Parents Gil and Kelly Jo were only 22 and 21 years old when they decided to get married in 1987. They never really wanted a big family, but after having their first baby a year later, they kept going because they loved holding babies. Since then, they’ve expanded until they had their last baby in 2012. They also have 10 grandchildren and are expecting to welcome 4 more soon. They also have their own reality show, Bringing Up Bates."Next is "Noel and Sue Radford who met when they were kids and didn’t wait long before starting a family. She was just 14 and he was 18 when they welcomed their first child, Christopher, into the world. They’re the biggest family in Britain with 21 children, and one more on the way. Included in their now 22 children there’s an angel, Alfie, who was a stillborn. They even have their own show, 15 Kids and Counting. The Radfords live in Morecambe, England, in a large house that used to be a nursing home and the parents own and run a successful bakery called Radford’s Pie Company."
Vineyards are full right now. Here's an example.
