Details
ITEM #:
2425
ETHNICITY:
Yoruba
ORIGIN:
Nigeria
MEDIUM:
Wood, Pigment, Cloth, Beads.
DIMENSIONS:
11″ Tall (27.9 cm)
CONDITION:
Good.
CATALOGUE NOTE:
The Yoruba are known for their extraordinarily high rate of multiple births and one of the highest in the world as regards twin birth. At one point in the past twins known as Ibeji, were thought by the Yoruba to be evil and were quickly killed as they were considered to be monsters and abnormal. However, a cult of twins developed in which the twins were now seen to be minor deities who blessed their families with good fortune. The death of either of the twins or both is thought to be calamitous for the family that must be remedied by appeasing the soul of the deceased child through the carving of a figure put in the care of the mother who will treat the small wooden figure as though it were the deceased twin and alive.
Yoruba ibeji are carved as small children with adult attributes as to sex, breasts and hairstyles and as a result they are fixed in time as adults.
