Two-Faced Baby Worshipped As Goddess

[Gfted1]

(AP) A baby with two faces was born in a northern Indian village, where she is doing well and is being worshipped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess, her father said Tuesday.

 

The baby, Lali, apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Except for her ears, all of Lali's facial features are duplicated - she has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes.

 

"My daughter is fine - like any other child," said Vinod Singh, 23, a poor farm worker.

 

Lali has caused a sensation in the dusty village of Saini Sunpura, 25 miles east of New Delhi. When she left the hospital, eight hours after a normal delivery on March 11, she was swarmed by villagers, said Sabir Ali, the director of Saifi Hospital.

 

"She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time," Ali said.

 

Rural India is deeply superstitious and the little girl is being hailed as a return of the Hindu goddess of valor, Durga, a fiery deity traditionally depicted with three eyes and many arms.

 

Up to 100 people have been visiting Lali at her home every day to touch her feet out of respect, offer money and receive blessings, Singh told The Associated Press.

 

"Lali is God's gift to us," said Jaipal Singh, a member of the local village council. "She has brought fame to our village."

 

Village chief Daulat Ram said he planned to build a temple to Durga in the village.

 

"I am writing to the state government to provide money to build the temple and help the parents look after their daughter," Ram said.

 

Lali's condition is often linked to serious health complications, but the doctor said she was doing well.

 

"She is leading a normal life with no breathing difficulties," said Ali, adding that he saw no need for surgery.

 

Lali's parents were married in February 2007. Lali is their first child.

 

Singh said he took his daughter to a hospital in New Delhi where doctors suggested a CT scan to determine whether her internal organs were normal, but Singh said he felt it was unnecessary.

 

"I don't feel the need of that at this stage as my daughter is behaving like a normal child, posing no problems," he said.

 

Link to picture.

 

Freaky. I wonder how her brain processes the visual information of seeing four places at once or which mouth will do the talking.

[Arkan]

Do all four of the eyes work though?

[Xard]

Old news

 

Unbeliavable thing anyway

[Humodour]

Holy ****.

[Gorgon]

Poor thing

[Xard]

How come? That girl is going to be live life as minor goddess unless backwater rural indians suddenly become academic and all read somehow

[thepixiesrock]

Yeah, being deformed is an acceptable trade-off that I'm sure we would all make. And something about how that second part of what you said doesn't sit right with me either, but I'm not willing to look into what it is.

[Xard]

Hey, I'm not saying she wouldn't be better off without deformations but things looks better for her than millions of other people around world with deformations if simply due to their religion

[thepixiesrock]

Well, sure, but still, poor thing.

[Morgoth]

Well, she may get worshipped like a goddess, but she sure won't get a boyfriend!

Edited April 8, 2008 by Morgoth

[Xard]

...I wouldn't be so sure about that either

[Humodour]

Well, she may get worshipped like a goddess, but she sure won't get a boyfriend!

 

I'm pretty sure that if they're willing to treat her like a deity, one of them is willing to be her boyfriend.

[Sand]

I bet when she becomes an adult she will go into politics.

[random n00b]

Are you setting things up for a torrent of cynical and distasteful jokes revolving around "two-faced" and "politicians"?

[Azure79]

Wow, I'm feel so sorry for the little girl. At the same time I'm somewhat fascinated that this is something that can happen...biologically.

[Humodour]

It's an example micro-evolution.

 

If this were a biologically advantageous trait, or simply sexually desirable, its fitness would be higher than the current state, hence it would probably become dominant eventually.

[random n00b]

It's an example micro-evolution.

 

If this were a biologically advantageous trait, or simply sexually desirable, its fitness would be higher than the current state, hence it would probably become dominant eventually.

I think I read somewhere that people born with extra stuff not only are more prone to health problems, but also in most cases, their "extra" whatever can't function normally because the brain isn't ready for it, therefore offering no advantage. There are exceptions however, such as people with an extra kidney, but those are rare.

 

Since some evolution theories propose that opposable thumbs (and, more generally, the ability to control each finger individually) may have been a factor in the development of higher intellect, imagine what an extra set of (functional) arms would require. And the optic nerve is some of the most complex nerve tissue in the body... I wonder if both sets of eyes work, and how her brain interprets it.

 

And, as a side note, "survival of the fittest" doesn't apply to the human race anymore.

[Xard]

Not like it ever did anyway

[astr0creep]

Why do these things always come out of India?

[Gfted1]

Maybe its down to statistics? If you have 1+ billion people you have a higher percentage chance of abnormalities. China probably has some crazy stuff too but we never hear about it before its snuffed out in some rice patty.

[Gorgon]

I saw a discovery program on this, it's an error in cell division, as such it is a mutation, but not one that is going to create a race of two headed or four armed superhumans.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Maybe its down to statistics? If you have 1+ billion people you have a higher percentage chance of abnormalities.

 

Places with poor sanitation when it comes to hazardous waste also have a higher occurrence of mutations.

[~Di]

So very sad. Still, I'm relieved that the villagers are worshipping her rather than shunning her.

[Walsingham]

So very sad. Still, I'm relieved that the villagers are worshipping her rather than shunning her.

It seems to happen a lot in India. I remember one guy who is now an adult with a tail. They treat him as an avatar of Hanuman. Still can't get a date of course. But I agree. It beats the hell out of burning the poor kid as a demon or something.