Khuangtuaha Pawl Lalpa Kohhran Thar was started by Khuangtuaha (full name Khuangtuahthanga). Khuangtuah was born in 1891 at Sialsuk village, and was the second child of eight siblings, four brothers and four sisters. He fought in the Abor War of 1912 and then in
World War I as a volunteer in the
British Army. He received two war medals for his service in France. A spiritual enlightenment in 1935 prompted him to devote his life in evangelism. He established followers at Hmawngkawn village, where he allegedly had an
apparition of three strangers who told him that he was destined to be one of the three stars and instructed him of new religious practices. He was the first to adopt a kind of
spiritual sex called
khurbing by which men and women form illicit extramarital couples. As a previously Mizo traditional drummer, he also advocated the use of
khuang (Mizo traditional drum) for worship purposes. The British missionaries perceived the Mizo traditional drum deeply rooted in and associated with pagan rituals, and denounced the use as an instrument of worship.
He also reintroduced the use of Mizo wine, which was also proscribed by the church. His followers then began to be known as Khuangtuaha Pawl
("Pawl''" means group or sect or organisation). Upon these subversive practices, the Presbyterian Church officially condemned the group as dissenters for upholding liberal, "wrong and dangerous" theology and
excommunicated them in 1942. Another factor leading to the excommunication was the birth of Khuangtuaha's illegitimate child. Supported by his brother Chana (full name Challianchana), Khuangtuaha formally established a new sect on 12 June 1942. His followers settled with him in a localised area on the outskirts of the village. The sect still celebrate the foundation date as "
Bawkte Kut" (literally meaning "Festival of the Hut" referring to the initial settlement) every year. For inciting immoral social life, the British soldiers imprisoned him for three months in 1942, and again for nine months in 1943. with the support from British officers,There are two memorial stones erected in Hmawngkawn, one of which bears the headline inscription:Kan pa nunhlun zirna sikul hawngtu hmasa ber Khuangtuahthanga chu March 30, 1955-ah Lalpa hnenah a chawl ta. [Our father who opened the first school of everlasting life Khuangtuahthanga rests with the Lord on 30 March 1955.] are false.) Born in 1910, Chana was more modernised and educated up to secondary education. Against the advice of his father, Thlohva, who clung to Mizo paganism, not to follow his brother Khuangtuaha, he converted to Christianity and later joined his brother. He married seven wives and that started the practice of polygamy in the sect. Khuangtuaha also followed suit and had three wives by the time he died. Unlike his brother, Chana did not forsake
materialism and embraced
allopathic medicine such as use of
pharmaceutical medications. He was known to foretell important political events including disbandment of Mizo tribal chieftainship by the government, departure of British missionaries,
Independence of India and the
rise and fall of Hitler. He also introduced a proper worship place called
Inpui (mansion or temple), a complex of his quarters, church and community hall, constructed in 1956. With his revolutionised leadership, the sect became popularly known as
Chana Pawl. In 1967, the Government of India exercised village conglomeration policy for effective administration under the insurgency. Under the political strategy named Protected and Progressive Villages (PPVs), small villages were forced to merge into bigger villages which were easily accessible for transportations and communications. For Hmawngkawn, the nearest grouping centre was Baktawng, 50 km from Hmawngkawn, and Chana's sect was allowed to relocated at the western fringe of the village. They were 20 families and started from scratch in a dense forest. They gave the new habitation a name
Tlangnuam ("Serene Hill"). Due to severe hardship during resettlement, some followers were discouraged and inclined to renounce their faith. The sect faced a severe
bottleneck survival. But a
materialistic-oriented Chana was a hardworking man, and soon developed various professional trades for the church members. With focussed
division of labour, families were motivated to take up manual jobs of their interest; they became specialised in farming, carpentry and tinsmith. By the time Mizoram was given an inclusive administrative system as
Union Territory in 1972, political and economic lives were rehabilitated. Chana's community became a self-sustaining "industrial colony," and a formidable social and political force as they managed to get majority of votes in government elections, especially in those of
village council.
Official name The sect by then were known by different names such as Khuangtuaha Pawl, Khurbing and Chana Pawl. As they became a consolidated community without any officially approved recognition, Darhmingliana, the Administrative Officer of Baktawng, suggested them the name
Lalpa Kohhran Thar. In 1971, the sect approved the new name.
Ziona and Chhuanthar As Chana died on 27 February 1997, his eldest son Ziona became an elected successor. The sect called him by the honorific title "Hotupa" (literally meaning leader or master). He became the most prolific polygamous man of the sect. He married his first wife Zaṭhiangi, who was three years his senior, at the age of 17; and the last in 2004. By the time he took up the leadership, he already had more wives than his father. It is not known exactly how many wives he had had in his lifetime. By 2005, three were dead and some abandoned him. At the time of his death in 2021, he had 38 wives, 89 children and 33 grandchildren.
Social revival Ziona set up a different system of communal living from his predecessors. He constructed separate church and residence. The church is named
Hnam Thlan Run Pui ("Mansion of the Chosen People"). 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 the younger wives live on the ground floor. To receive visitors, he constructed a separate guesthouse named
Khualbuk. For festivals and official programmes, Ziona introduced a military-like system for all members. They have properly ranked uniforms and duties including mass parades. The work culture started by Chana and fostered by Ziona made the sect one of the most industrious communities in Mizoram. They are recognised and supported by the state government, The community is part (an official branch) of the
Young Mizo Association, the largest non-governmental organisation in Mizoram. Ziona instituted a community service day. On every Monday, no one is allowed to run their own errands. The elders draw schedules for each individual to perform community work of their ability. Routine works include cleaning streets, repairing roads, repairing of someone else's house, caring for someone else's farm, and helping families in need of workforce. 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. Ziona and his family was included in 2013's
Ripley Believe It or Not book 9. == Beliefs and practices ==