– and they believe their affliction is the result of a CURSE from a snake god.
Members of the Kannathu clan, from a small village in Alappuzha in southern India, have been born with the condition for several generations.
Some have three fingers fused and others only two, and they claim their fused digits look like the hood of a snake.
And while the condition, known as syndactyly, can be treated surgically, the family feels doing so would only bring them bad luck and poor health.
Sarasu Kannathu, 70, the oldest woman in the family says: “We do not even see surgery as an option.”
She added: “Despite our fingers being fused together, we live a normal life and do not face any difficulty in day-to-day chores.
“While many have suggested we get them corrected, we have a strong feeling that if we undergo surgery something bad will happen to us.”
Another family member, Lakshmi, added: “I can cook, chop vegetables, wash clothes and utensils and even stitch with my fingers. I have never faced any trouble.
“It is because I was born this way and I have learned how to use (my hands) correctly.
“However, I miss wearing rings.”
Chilling final texts between pregnant mum & boyfriend before ‘honour killing’
The family affliction started around 90 years ago and has been passed on from generation to generation.
Just recently a baby was born with Syndactyly – and Sarasu believes it is only going to continue.
She said: “It will pass on to coming generations. It has been part of the family and we believe it will always be.”
She added: “While people do not understand the condition first, they see it as divine when we explain why we have this.
“Our grandfather used to tell us that it started after a neighbour cut off part of a tree at a sacred grove. Ever since, the children of our family are born with webbed hands.
“One relative lost his hearing sense after he had surgery to correct his fingers.
“We do not want to meet with the same fate by hurting or angering the Gods.”
To appease the Snake God, the family organise a religious ceremony every year at a sacred grove where they believe the divine beings live.
Girishkumar, 48, who has webbed hands and works as a JCB driver, said: “It is only because of the worship that we have never faced any troubles despite our deformed fingers.
“I haven’t faced any physical issues and I can work as any other normal person.”
Last week it was reported a young Indian boy saw his face for the first time, more than a decade after strangers paid for a life-changing op to remove his horrific facial tumours.
Mithun Chauhan, cruelly nicknamed “ghost boy”, developed the rare condition when he was just five years old.
Leave a Reply