Before he was laid to rest Sunday, the Angolan man known as Pai Grande, or Big Dad, drew a crowd of at least 1,000 people – including most, if not all, of his 156 surviving children and 250 grandchildren – to pay their respects. At least 1,000 people gathered for the burial of Francisco Tchikuteny Sabalo despite prohibitions on large gatherings in Angola, April 19, 2020.Tchikuteny was a Christian who belonged to the New Ecclesiastic Order of Angola, a relative said. He was buried in a nearby cemetery newly dedicated to his family. That family includes 42 current wives; another seven had left the family earlier, relatives said. FILE – The late Francisco Tchikuteny Sabalo is shown in 2015 with some of his family. When he died April 14, 2020, he had 42 wives and 156 children. (Photo by Armando Chicoca) In 2015, Tchikuteny told VOA that he prized education and spent more than $1,500 a year on school supplies.He had expressed a desire for seeing some of his children trained in science and technology. Three daughters currently are studying medical sciences and two sons are learning computer science, all at the high school level. Lumbaneny Sabalo had volunteered as an elementary school teacher for five years. At Sunday’s service, Gonçalves Hunandumbo, the director of the island’s school, praised Tchikuteny for supporting education and starting “a revolution against illiteracy. … He was a man and a complete human being.” According to his family, Tchikuteny had fathered 281 children, but 125 predeceased him. He is survived by his wives, children, grandchildren and 67 great-grandchildren. With Tchikuteny’s death, “We lost a father,” Lumbaneny Sabalo said. He asked journalists and others to continue to visit the island, “where the greatest in Angola lived, and he will remain alive in the history of this country.” This reported originated in VOA’s Portuguese Service.
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