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Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302
Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302 Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302 Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302 Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302 Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302 Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302 Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302 Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302
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Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302

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  • Yoruba Ibedji Twin Figure with Cowrie Vest, Nigeria #302
  • In the language of the Yoruba People, Ibeji means twin: IBI = born and EJI = two.
  • Twins, at their birth, are considered to have Supernatural Powers. They are able to bring happiness, health and prosperity to their families. They must be treated with tremendous care, respect and devotion.
  • Twins are believed to share the One Soul, and when one of them dies, the other one is in danger, because their soul becomes unbalanced. The family can suffer significant misfortune. This balance must be re-established by carving an Ibeji which will become the physical shelter of the soul of the Deceased Twin(s).

  • Hence, the Ibeji is the guardian of the soul of the deceased twin. This is the reason why it is treated with the same thoughtful care than the living twin. For example, when the mother is breastfeeding the living twin, the Ibeji will be placed on the other breast; when the child is bathed and cleansed, the Ibeji will be washed and even smeared with a reddish mass, named camwood, which is a mixture of crushed red wood and palm oil.

  • - Mothers will take care of the Ibeji, wash, feed and look after them, carry them on their backs during festivities of family visits, and keep the figurines next to their beds for the first years.
  • The heads are over-sized – one-third the size of their bodies – because for the Yoruba, the head is where the spirit resides.
  • - Measurements: 28×12×8 cm
  • In the past, the birth of twins was a negative sign, followed by many superstitions, including the most tragical one, when the mother was accused of adultery, the twins birth supposed two fathers and revealed the mother’s infidelity, resulting in the murder of the mother and of her twins.
  • Considering that in the Yoruba country, 1 Gemellary Birth is counted for every 22 Births (compared to 1 on 80 for the rest of the world...), the persistent murder of twins and their mothers did not favor demographic growth. This attitude brutally changed during the first half of the 19th century.
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