Day 11 of the "virtual (digital) tour" of places known for unusual customs, practices, mysterious phenomena. This post is part of the A to Z Challenge and Blogchatter A2Z 2026
The village has around 2,000 families, and there are more than 400 pairs of twins. The twin birth rate is about 45 per 1,000 births, compared to India’s average of 9 per 1,000.
THE DISCOVERY
How this phenomenon was discovered is interesting. In 2006, in a classroom, two twin sisters noticed that there were several other pairs like them. What started as simple curiosity soon turned into a small survey, which revealed that this was no coincidence.
By 2008, a village-wide effort confirmed the astonishing numbers. This led to the creation of the Twins and Kins Association (TAKA), a unique organisation in India that supports families with twins and multiple births.
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| Image courtesy: NDTV |
Some researchers suggest that something in the local water or air may play a role, but no specific element has been identified. Another belief is that the local diet could be a factor. In some parts of the world, foods like yam are thought to increase the chances of twins. However, Kodinhi residents largely follow a typical Kerala diet of rice and coconut, which makes this theory uncertain.
Genetics seems like an obvious explanation, but it does not fully fit. While some families have a history of twins, others do not. Interestingly, women from Kodinhi have been known to give birth to twins even after moving away from the village.
THREE OTHER PLACES
Kodinhi is not alone. Similar patterns have been observed in places such as Igbo-Ora in Nigeria, Cândido Godói in Brazil, and Hung Loc Commune in Vietnam.
Though this unusual phenomenon has brought recognition to the village, reports have suggested that it has also placed financial strain on families. Most residents are engaged in farming and small businesses, and raising twins often results in financial challenges.
(Information sources: BBC, The News Minute, Outlook Traveller, The Times of India, NDTV, Money Control, Wikipedia)
Previous posts in the series
I knew about this.
ReplyDeleteWell, isn't that so interesting, and rather curious.
ReplyDeleteI had heard of this place. Sort of miracle.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteKind of Kinky, in an intriguing way! I was aware that certain places do seem to have these phenomena, but had not heard of Kodinhi itself. YAM xx
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThis so interesting, there are twins on both sides of my family, my mother had twin brothers and my father was one of twins, but it didn't happen to me, no twins, just 4 children!
ReplyDeleteFascinating. I heard that when someone in a family has twins, everyone is more likely to have twins. (That's what they told my niece when my SIL had twins, that she was more likely to have them.) Maybe that's part of it?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to interview the twins to see how they feel about living in a village where there are so many others like them.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that a surprise second child would cause a bit of financial hardship. That never occurred to me before. ~shakes head~ Oh, and I have a question for you regarding the Hakki Pikki naming tradition. Are monikers like Japan and America pronounced as English or translated to the tribe's native tongue? I wondered about that while telling my husband this interesting fact. Be well!
ReplyDeleteThis rang a bell I must have heard about this place before, still I am amazed at the number of twins
ReplyDeleteQuite amazing, really. I have only ever known a few twins in my life.
ReplyDelete