The head of the world’s biggest family died at age 76 on Sunday, June 13. Ziona Chana, the man who died, had 38 wives and 89 children. 

“I believe God has chosen us to be like this (to have big families),” Ziona told CNN in 2011. 

He belonged to a Christina tribal sect that promotes polygamy as God’s will. Polygamy is illegal in India under the country’s penal code, with an exception for Muslims. 

Ziona wed his first wife at the age of 17. It was unclear if he legally married all the women he described as his wives.