The small wooden figure has a face worn smooth by years of washing and oiling. Its hair is coloured with indigo, and strings of beads hang around its waist. For a Yoruba family, this figure was not a decoration. It represented a twin child who had died, and it was fed, dressed and carried as if alive. Ere ibeji, the twin figures of the Yoruba, are among the most moving works of African sculpture.
Twins in Yoruba culture
The Yoruba have one of the highest twin birth rates in the world. The town of Igbo-Ora in Oyo State is often called the twin capital of the world. Twins have special names: the first-born is Taiwo and the second Kehinde. Kehinde is traditionally considered the elder, having sent Taiwo ahead to see the world.
Twins are believed to bring good fortune and are honoured with songs, dances and offerings.
If a twin died, the family commissioned a carved figure from a sculptor, guided by a diviner.
Caring for and carving the figure
The mother would wash, oil, dress and feed the figure, and carry it as she would a child, keeping the twin’s spirit honoured. Ere ibeji are usually small standing figures with large heads, elaborate hairstyles and adult features. Many figures show wear from years of care, with faces rubbed smooth and colour applied repeatedly. Different workshops and regions had their own styles, which experts can identify.
With the spread of Christianity and Islam, some families replaced carved figures with photographs or plastic dolls. Many ere ibeji are now in museum collections, which raises questions about how they left their families.
Today, Igbo-Ora and clothing the figures
Twins remain celebrated in Yoruba culture, and Igbo-Ora holds an annual twins festival. The figures express love, grief and the belief that the bond between twins continues after death. Igbo-Ora’s reputation for twins has made it a destination for researchers and visitors, and the town welcomes twins from across Nigeria at its festival. Figures were often given beaded garments, cowrie shells and small coats as signs of care.
An ere ibeji was made for a child who had died. The years of washing and oiling left on many of them show how long the family kept caring for that child.
