Kodinji
Encyclopedia
Kodinhi is a village in Malappuram district in Kerala
, India
. The village is situated close to the town of Tirurangadi
and, as of 2008, is home to around 2,000 families.
Administered by the Nannambra
panchayat, the village came to international attention for the unusually large number of multiple birth
s in the region. The village is noted for having a high twinning rate although India has one of the lowest twinning rates in the world.
The first association of twins in the country, The Twins and Kins Association, was also founded in the village.
, the district headquarters. The village is surrounded by backwater
s on all sides but one, which connects it to the town of Tirurangadi
.
, and follow the Shafi school of thought.
s, and two sets of triplet
s. Despite several studies being conducted, the exact cause of this phenomenon is yet to be ascertained. Women from Kodinhi married off to far away places are also known to give birth to twins. According to locals, the oldest known twin pair in the village was born in 1949. The number of twin births in Kodinhi has been increasing over the years, with surveys showing over 79 pairs of twins within the age group of 0-10 years.
This phenomenon of a large number of twin births is not unique to Kodinhi, and has also been observed in the town of Igbo-Ora
in Nigeria
. In Igbo-Ora, research has suggested that the multiple births could be related to the eating habits of the women in the region. Though no direct relation between dietary intake and twin births has been proven, a research study carried out at the University of Lagos
Teaching Hospital has suggested that a chemical found in the Igbo-Ora women and the peelings of a widely consumed tuber could account for the high level of multiple births. In the case of Kodinhi, however, no such relationship has been observed, as the residents' dietary patterns are not known to be significantly different from the rest of Kerala.
Similar phenomenon of a large number of twin births within a small isolated community has been observed in Cândido Godói
, Brazil.
In 2008, around 30 pairs of twins from Kodinhi, along with their parents, got together to form the The Twins and Kins Association, the first such association of twins in India. The forum, according to its founders, aims to bring to wider attention problems peculiar to people of multiple births, such as those concerning their education and health.
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The village is situated close to the town of Tirurangadi
Tirurangadi
Tirurangadi is a small town in Malapuram district of Kerala, South India. It is a historical old town which is much famed for its active participance in the freedom struggle, especially those dating back to 1920s. It is a panchayat as well as a taluk...
and, as of 2008, is home to around 2,000 families.
Administered by the Nannambra
Nannambra
Nannambra is a village in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India.-Demographics: India census, Nannambra had a population of 35532 with 16846 males and 18686 females....
panchayat, the village came to international attention for the unusually large number of multiple birth
Multiple birth
A multiple birth occurs when more than one fetus is carried to term in a single pregnancy. Different names for multiple births are used, depending on the number of offspring. Common multiples are two and three, known as twins and triplets...
s in the region. The village is noted for having a high twinning rate although India has one of the lowest twinning rates in the world.
The first association of twins in the country, The Twins and Kins Association, was also founded in the village.
Geography
The village is situated around 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) south of Calicut and 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) west of MalappuramMalappuram
Malappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
, the district headquarters. The village is surrounded by backwater
Backwater (river)
A backwater is a part of a river in which there is little or no current. It refers either to a branch of a main river which lies alongside it and then rejoins it or to a body of water in a main river which is backed up by an obstruction such as the tide or a dam.-Alternative channel:If a river has...
s on all sides but one, which connects it to the town of Tirurangadi
Tirurangadi
Tirurangadi is a small town in Malapuram district of Kerala, South India. It is a historical old town which is much famed for its active participance in the freedom struggle, especially those dating back to 1920s. It is a panchayat as well as a taluk...
.
Culture and demographics
As of November 2008, the population of the village was roughly estimated at around 2,000 families. A majority of the residents are Sunni MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, and follow the Shafi school of thought.
Twin births
The village entered the international spotlight when a survey done by locals found an unusually large number of twin births in the region. Though initial estimates put the instance of multiple births at 100 pairs, follow-up surveys found the figure to be closer to 204 pairs (408 individuals) of twinTwin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
s, and two sets of triplet
Multiple birth
A multiple birth occurs when more than one fetus is carried to term in a single pregnancy. Different names for multiple births are used, depending on the number of offspring. Common multiples are two and three, known as twins and triplets...
s. Despite several studies being conducted, the exact cause of this phenomenon is yet to be ascertained. Women from Kodinhi married off to far away places are also known to give birth to twins. According to locals, the oldest known twin pair in the village was born in 1949. The number of twin births in Kodinhi has been increasing over the years, with surveys showing over 79 pairs of twins within the age group of 0-10 years.
This phenomenon of a large number of twin births is not unique to Kodinhi, and has also been observed in the town of Igbo-Ora
Igbo-Ora
Igbo-Ora is a town in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria, situated north of Lagos. As of 2001, the population of the town was approximately 60,000 people...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. In Igbo-Ora, research has suggested that the multiple births could be related to the eating habits of the women in the region. Though no direct relation between dietary intake and twin births has been proven, a research study carried out at the University of Lagos
University of Lagos
The University of Lagos - popularly known as Unilag - is a federal government university with a main campus located at Akoka, Yaba and a college of medicine located at Idi-Araba, all in Lagos, Lagos State, southern Nigeria...
Teaching Hospital has suggested that a chemical found in the Igbo-Ora women and the peelings of a widely consumed tuber could account for the high level of multiple births. In the case of Kodinhi, however, no such relationship has been observed, as the residents' dietary patterns are not known to be significantly different from the rest of Kerala.
Similar phenomenon of a large number of twin births within a small isolated community has been observed in Cândido Godói
Cândido Godói
Cândido Godói is a municipality of 6,641 inhabitants in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil near the Argentinian border, famous for the high number of twins born there...
, Brazil.
In 2008, around 30 pairs of twins from Kodinhi, along with their parents, got together to form the The Twins and Kins Association, the first such association of twins in India. The forum, according to its founders, aims to bring to wider attention problems peculiar to people of multiple births, such as those concerning their education and health.