Igbomina Ere Ibeji

It is said that the Yoruba ethnic group’s world-leading rate of fraternal twin births is responsible for the cult of the ibeji. This phenomenon, wherein the parents of deceased twin(s) carve or commission an ere ibeji, is centuries old. The development of the custom grew out of the calamity that a twin birth presented at the time. Multiple births are, by their nature, risky. The babies are often premature and underweight, and the delivery is more perilous for both mother and infants. The creation of the cult of the ibeji sought to address the tragic impact that losing children and/or a mother has on families. The idea was that the family troubles that arose after the particularly common infant death of a twin were the result of the dead baby’s spirit causing mischief from the spirit world out of jealousy over the care and love provided to its surviving twin and siblings. It was thought that by carving a child image, and caring for it symbolically through ritual handling and adornment, the spirit of the deceased twins would be discouraged from envy and dissuaded from acts of mischief. It is therefore not the high rate of twin births that can be thanked for the institution of the ibeji, but rather the already-high rate of infant mortality and family tragedy in historical West Africa that twin births only amplified.

This striking and well worn ibeji comes from the Igbomina region of Yorubaland. It was acquired in the 1980s by its former owners, a late couple from Long Island, NY. $600

11″

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