Seminar papers on Yoruba twins, spring, 2010
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Ijebu Ode male/female pair
Much of the work for this exhibition has been carried out by the twelve students in my spring, 2009 seminar on Yoruba twin figures. The students paired up, one graduate student with one undergraduate, and then chose a topic to work on together. The topics included Yoruba aesthetics, the history of twins, the carving of the ere Ibeji, the materials used by the carvers and owners, the regional styles, Yoruba religion, and the prayers and offerings associated with twins, and more. The text panels on the walls of the exhibit have all been written by the students, whose names follow the texts.
During the semester the seminar visited Professor Simon’s home several times to look at and handle the ere Ibeji, to discuss their work, and to identify objects on which they could focus. Students and faculty passed Ibeji around the room, examined them closely, investigated the bases, additions, and pigments, and engaged in lively discussion about such issues as the tourist trade, the appropriation of other peoples’ culture, the important of understanding art in context, the role of the artist in society, the role of the collector, and others. Each team presented their material at the end of the semester, and each has participated in the selection of the objects and the editing of the texts.
We are all grateful to Professor Simon for his hospitality, and especially for giving the students a chance to work directly with the works of art, an opportunity that few students anywhere in America are able to experience.
Wendy Ann Parker
Clare Frances Bridgford
Rachael Ann Buckles
Natalie Jeanne Curlee
James A Curry
Angela Lena Dieffenbach
Elizabeth Ann Miller
Garrett Brandon Nobbs
Nathan Alan Popp
Leighanna Christine Rutt
Lindsay Erin Shannon
Claire R Smessaert
Stephen Joseph Smith
Summer Rae Trentin
Introduction
The fine group of small figures you see here are ere ibeji, “images of twins,” from the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria. Each of these figures, male or female, carved of wood, embodies the spirit of a deceased twin.
Yoruba peoples have the highest rate of twin births in the world: 4.7 47 per 1,000 births. Because twins bring great good luck to their parents, they are honored, both living and dead. Yet twins are often frail at birth, and if one dies, Yoruba parents commission a small figure of the same gender. If both die, the parents commission two figures, carved to represent the twins as adults, with fully developed genitalia and breasts, elaborate hairstyles, and often with jewelry and symbolic amulets.
The parents lavish attention on surviving twins and on twin images, applying a dark red cosmetic dye called camwood on the bodies, and dark blue indigo in the hair. The figures are offered food; when their faces become soiled they are washed with a handful of sand. Over decades of use this handling softens facial features and adds an accumulation of red camwood and indigo.
These figures belong to Professor J. Richard Simon of the Department of Psychology at the University of Iowa. Professor Simon’s collection of ere ibeji, assembled over the past decade, was the subject of “Looking at Yoruba Twin Figures,” a class taught in the spring 2009 semesterby Professor Christopher D. Roy.
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Baba Magba female pair
Regional Styles of Ere Ibeji
The Yoruba occupy a large area of southwestern Nigeria that encompasses many diverse communities. While ere ibeji serve the same purpose throughout Yoruba country, carving styles vary by city and region. Some cities have very distinctive styles, while others are closely related to those of nearby towns. These styles have evolved over the history of ere ibeji carving, perhaps deriving from the continuing traditions passed down from early master carvers in each city. Since the figures must be approved by the babalawo, or priest, of each city, a certain amount of uniformity is retained from generation to generation in keeping with regional traditions. Nearly every feature of an ere ibeji figure, from hairstyle to base, can be used to help identify it as belonging to a particular city.
The small region of Egba in southwest Nigeria is home to distinctive styles of ere ibeji, the most easily identifiable of which come from the large city of Abeokuta. The most prominent features of Abeokuta twin figures are the large hands, which join the body at the hip and are usually carved with great detail, even including fingernails. Both male and female ere ibeji from Abeokuta often wear carved skirts, aprons, or shorts. The heads, hands, and feet are oversized, but the bodies are fairly naturalistic, with bent elbows and softly modeled musculature. The mouths bow upward into a smile, and the eyes are lidded at the top. In the smaller cities of southern Egba, twin figures are influenced by those of Abeokuta, sharing similar proportions but differing in hairstyle and typically lacking the distinctive clothing and hand position of the Abeokuta style.
Just south of Egba in the small area of Ijebu, where artists are known more for their metalwork than wood carving, the local style is very different. In the city of Iperu, the local style is more compact, lacking the negative space that is a feature of ere ibeji from most other cities. The figures are rather stiff, with straight arms and legs. The bodies bend forward slightly at the narrow waists, below shortened torsos. Genitals are small, and faces linear and stylized.
Occupying a substantial portion of north central Yoruba territory is the Oyo region, largest in both size and population and encompassing a great variety of cities and local styles. In the south of Oyo lies the capital city of Ibadan. More abstract and geometric than most ere ibeji, those of Ibadan rely heavily on pattern for aesthetic effect. The scarification on the faces and bodies of both sexes is prominent, and the bases are often patterned as well. While the bodies are rounded, the heads are almost rectangular in profile, and are very stylized. The legs are extremely short and the genitals are prominent. The heads are quite large in proportion to the body and have very geometric features. The mouth is about the same width as the nose, and the eyes are almond-shaped and outlined.
Oyo City, located in south central Oyo, has a distinctive style of ere ibeji influenced by the Igbuke carving house. These figures are instantly recognizable by their distinctive hairstyles, each topped with four lobes, and their grooved bases. The heads are oval and the features strong. In the eastern Oyo cities of Erin and Oshogbo, separated by only a few kilometers, local carvers produce ere ibeji that are so similar as to be almost indistinguishable. Ere ibeji from Erin feature short legs, long arms, and sloped shoulders. Like the twin figures of Oyo City, the eyes bulge and the features are pronounced. The Oshogbo figures are very similar, with slightly thinner necks and shorter arms. Because of their similarity, many figures cannot be identified as originating from one city or the other.
Some twin figures are extremely difficult to classify into a particular style. Figures that are carved by amateurs or less-skilled craftsmen, for example, may fail to conform to the typical style. Also, the movement of carvers from one region to another sometimes results in hybrid styles, as artists combine the style they have learned with that of a new locale. With new traditions and materials changing the way ere ibeji are produced and used, it is likely that new styles of twin figures will both supplement and replace the old, contributing to the constant evolution of African art.
An understanding of the styles produced by carvers of different cities and regions is essential in determining the provenance of ere ibeji. Not only do they reflect carving traditions of particular towns, but they can also reveal outside influences, such as the Islamic tirah carved onto some ere ibeji. However, even within cities, ibeji can vary greatly based on a number of factors, including the artist who carved them, the time period in which they were made, and the family who commissioned them. This contributes to the richness, complexity, and individuality of Yoruba twin figures.
Rachael Buckles and Summer Trentin
Bibliography
Drewal, Henry John. African Artistry: Technique and Aesthetics in Yoruba Sculpture; An Exhibition of Yoruba Art from the Arnett Collection. April 17–May 25, 1980. Atlanta: High Museum of Art, 1980.
Houlberg, Marilyn Hammersley. "Ibeji Images of the Yoruba." African Arts 7, 1 (Autumn 1973): 20-92.
Polo, Fausto, and Jean David. Catalogue of the Ibeji. Zurich: Galerie Walu, 2001.
Stoll, Mareidi, and Gert Stoll. Ibeji: Zwillingsfiguren der Yoruba; Twin Figures of the Yoruba. Translatedby Donald Arthur. Munich: G. und M. Stoll, 1980.
Vogelzang, Jacques. Ere Ibeji: Beelden van tweelingen, in het bijzonder van de Yoruba van Nigeria. Berg en Dal: Afrika Museum, 1994.
Oro
Continuity and Change in Ere Ibeji
The traditional art form of ere ibeji seen in this exhibition continues to be made by artists who serve the community around them. These treasured figures are still the pieces most sought after by collectors and museums today. However, in the twentieth century and beyond, new forms began to be used to fulfill the needs of ibeji and reflect the changes that take place in every culture over time.
Some contemporary ere ibeji are carved by the same artists who carve traditional ibeji figures. Smaller ere ibeji have been created, usually requested by individuals for whom mobility is a concern. According to scholar Marilyn Houlberg, most traditional ere ibeji average about ten inches in height, varying slightly by region. Smaller figures can be about half this height and scale to accommodate being taken along on frequent travel by the caretaker.
One of the most striking contemporary needs arose within the Yoruba Muslim and Christian communities. The influence of these religions has discouraged many adherents from continuing traditional Yoruba practices, although some see no conflict and even draw connections between their Yoruba and Christian or Muslim identities. The necessity to conform to proscriptions against idolatry and to honor twins has created some simplified ere ibeji, which appear similar in form to carved Yoruba dolls.
Other contemporary developments arose which do not utilize the community artists who carve traditional ere ibeji. Plastic dolls available in the local marketplace have been occasionally seen, possibly because of the expense that commissioning a carver entails. In function, these dolls are genuine ere ibeji, as they are cared for and fulfill the same purpose as carved pieces, although they are certainly not as attractive or valuable to most outsiders.
Another striking combination of contemporary life with traditional practice is double-portrait photography. According to C. Angelo Micheli, this type of photograph is used by many people in West Africa to illustrate a relationship or personal achievement. Photographs of twins, or foto ibeji, can be presented as an image of the two siblings or as a double portrait of one individual—seen in duplicate, reflected in a mirror, or double-exposed. The latter is more common for commemoration as an ere ibeji, as the death of one twin at an early age will necessitate the need to photograph and present the remaining twin as the pair.
Lindsay E. Shannon
Bibliography
Houlberg, Marilyn Hammersley. “Ibeji Images of the Yoruba.” African Arts 7, 1 (Autumn 1973): 20–92.
Micheli, C. Angelo. “Doubles and Twins: A New Approach to Contemporary Studio Photography in West Africa.” African Arts 44, 1 (Spring 2008): 66–85.
History of twins
Long ago the birth of twins was regarded as an unnatural, ominous event. Twinning was often associated with promiscuity, animality, and/or sexual encounters with spirits. Thus, often twins (and sometimes the mother) were killed. It is unsure when or why the change occurred. Here is one common version of why it did: A couple from a group in the Isokun quarter in Oyo, after not understanding their giving birth to twins, consulted Ifa. He said it would be fine to keep the twins, provided they performed a sacrifice for them. They did so, and as a result the parents became very rich. When the rest of the village heard this, they decided to keep their twins, in hope that they would also become rich.
The first born twin is named Taiwo, and the second is named Kehinde. Although born second, Kehinde is the senior twin, because he sent his junior, Taiwo into the world first to be sure the world was safe. The birth of twins is almost always considered too much of a good thing. To return normalcy, a woman wishes to have two single, normal births after the birth of twins. The child born after twins, regardless of sex, is named “Idowu” and is associated with Eshu, the Yoruba trickster deity. Any rowdy behavior the child displays is seen as his connection with Eshu. The next child is called Alaba, and it is he or she that returns life to ordinary terms. Idowu is said to land “fast and hard,” while Alaba floats softly to make everything normal.
There are several connections between Eshu and Ibeji. Palm-oil (found in palm nuts) is placed on Eshu shrines to cool his anger. Likewise, when twins are upset, they are fed beans to pacify their anger. Both EShu and Ibeji require sacrifice or honor, otherwise they will suffer serious consequences. Twins, like Eshu, should be given tribute in order to receive good fortune; if not, they could cause harm to the parents or unsuspecting individual. Ibeji inflict their own retribution, while Eshu tricks people into making the orisha punish them.
Shango is the giver and father of twins, as well as the Yoruba god of thunder. He is also commonly credited with blessing women with fertility . In almost all forms of Yoruba religion he is described as a protective senior-relative of twins (i.e., Father of Twins, Uncle, Grandfather, etc.). For this reason, twins demand honor because they descend from the thundergod . The legend, or creation of Shango the Thundergod, varies, but this is one commonly told version. Shango, the descendant of Oranmiyan, was the tyrannical fourth king of Oyo. He was a feared warrior and Oba who terrified his enemies. With the power of the king’s army he lay waste to villages, towns, and farms, demanded tribute, and controlled commerce and the slave trade. Being a vain ruler, he was obsessed with acquiring magical powers to enhance his rule. One day while playing with his magical powers, he created a storm out of his control. Lightning destroyed the city, and killed many people including his family.
Elizabeth “Libby” Miller
Ere Ibeji Artists and Their Work
Traditionally, the role of the artist involves the client/patron as a collaborator. The client/patron’s ideas are just as important as the artist’s ideas. African art is always religious in that every object has significance in the Yoruba religious world. The Yoruba attribute the creation of the human body to a sculpture that was formed by the artist deity, Obatala.
Ere ibeji artists are considered semiprofessional and are typically farmers. Generally, wood carvers will come from a carving family or will do an apprenticeship, although there are some twin figures that may have been done by untrained carvers. Yoruba carvers, as well as the society, view themselves as artists.
It is a common misconception that Yoruba artists were traditionally anonymous, because they did not sign their work. The names of artists were known to the patrons and possibly anyone else who viewed the work. Some Yoruba carvers began to sign their work with geometric patterns in about 1900.
Establishing authorship of a piece of art is important to the Yoruba. The Yoruba may not publicly link a specific art object with the name of its creator because names given at birth are related to the essence of an individual’s personality and destiny, the orí-inú or inner spiritual head. The orí-inú decides a person’s success or failure and directs an individual’s actions. Until recently, artists seldom gave their full names to strangers because it made them susceptible to evil forces. Enemies who hear the name could use it to harm the owner of the name.
Yoruba wood carving has different stages. There are early stages in which much wood is removed, but more time is spent in conceiving the piece mentally, because carvers do not make maquettes or sketches.
Carving the ere ibeji is done in several steps: First, the log is sized down and the major body parts chiseled: body, legs, arms, base, and head, which is usually about one-third of the size of the body. Then the artist refines the figure with smaller tools, followed by smoothing the body. The patterns, such as hair styles, are then cut. Lastly, the ere ibeji is given facial marks based on the lineage of the father. After the carving is finished, the artist will perform a ceremonial washing.
After the washing, the figure is given to the parents, the commissioners, who are normally given about a week to prepare for the arrival of the ere ibeji. Family and friends are invited to the artist’s house for the event, and the parents bring food.
While friends and family are gathering, payment for the ere ibeji is determined. In one example, four kola nuts are brought by the commissioners/parents. One of the four kola nuts is broken, and the artist will hold the nuts and say “Ogun lakaye Osinmole. Should my workmanship fee be egbewa?” The nuts are then thrown on the ground. The artist will receive a minimum fee if two nuts face up and the other two face down. The price will be increased for each subsequent throw that does not result in two up and two down. There is a hidden meaning if the nuts do not land correctly after numerous throws, and the orisa Ogun is consulted by the artist using the same kola nut process. Usually, the carver can not accept a fee that is not approved by Ogun; the usual minimum fee is a small amount of money.
After payment is decided, the artist will make a prayerful sacrifice. The ere ibeji is placed on a mat while the artist recites the blessing, after which the figure is presented to the mother by the artist. Following the blessing, there is singing by the family and friends while the mother dances to the music. This ends the ceremony, but the ere ibeji is not finished until the ceremonies performed by the parents at home are complete.
Angela Dieffenbach
Bibliography
Abiọdun, Rowland, Henry John Drewal, and John Pemberton III. The Yoruba Artist: New Theoretical Perspectives on African Artists. Smithsonian Books, 1994.
Chemeche, George, and John Pemberton III. Ibeji: The Cult of Yoruba Twins. Milan: Five Continents, 2003.
“The Ibeji Cult of the Yoruba.” Access 18 August 2010 at http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart/CQueeny/IbejiHomepage.htm.
Lamp, Frederick. “Temne Twins (Tà-bàri) Should Share Everything.” African Arts (Spring 2008): 51.
Lawal, Babatunde. “Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yoruba Art and Culture.” African Arts (Spring 2008): 25, 35.
Ajasse
Yoruba Twin Figures: Artists
Ere Ibeji artists are considered semiprofessional and in the past were are typically farmers. Generally, wood carvers come from a carving family or do an apprenticeship with a professional artist. Although some twin figures may be carved by untrained members of the family, Yoruba carvers view themselves as true artists.
In the past Western observers considered traditional artists to be anonymous: this is because Yoruba artists did not sign their work as do artists in other cultures. The patrons who commissioned the work of art, and most people who saw it, knew very well the name of the artist who created it: artists were not anonymous. There is no written document with the names of the artists, “but in the carving schools the names of the artists were mostly known and great popular carvers and their work were in the memories of the people”. Some Yoruba carvers started to sign their work with geometric patters in about 1900 .
Establishing authorship of a piece of art is important to the Yoruba. The Yoruba may not publicly link a specific art object with the name of its creator because names given at birth are related to the “essence” of an individual’s personality and destiny, the orí-inú or inner spiritual head. The orí-inú decides a person’s success or failure and directs an individual’s actions. Until recently, artists seldom give their full names to strangers because it makes them susceptible to malevolent forces. Enemies who hear the name could use it to harm the owner of the name.
Yoruba wood carving is carried out in different stages. In the early stages much wood is removed quickly, but more time is spent in the early stages on ‘thinking’ or conceiving of the piece. Because carvers do not make sketches, decisions about proportions and details are made mentally .
Normally, the twin figures are about 8” x 12” tall. Ere Ibeji are carved in six steps: First the excess wood is removed and the major body parts are outlined- the body, legs, arms, base, and head, which is usually about 1/3 the size of the body. Then the artist refines the figure with smaller tools. The patterns, such as hair styles, are then cut. Lastly, the twin figure is given facial marks based on the lineage of the father . After the carving is finished, the artist performs a ceremonial washing of the ere Ibeji.
After the washing, the figure must be given to the parents, who are normally given about a week to prepare for the arrival of the ere Ibeji. Family and friends are invited to the artist’s house for the event, and the parents bring food.
While friends and family are gathering, they decide a fair payment for the ere Ibeji. Four kola nuts are brought by the commissioners/patrons. One of four kola nuts is broken, and the artist holds the nuts and says “Ogun lakaye Osinmole. Should my workmanship fee be egbewa?” The nuts are then thrown on the ground. The artist receives a minimum fee if two nuts face up and the other two face down. The price is increased for each subsequent throw that does not result in two up and two down. There is a hidden meaning if the nuts do not land correctly after numerous throws, and the orisa Ogun is consulted by the artist using the same kolanut process . Usually, the carver cannot accept a fee that is not approved by orisa Ogun; the usual minimum fee is five kobo.
After payment is decided, the artist makes an offering. The ere Ibeji is placed on a mat while the artist recites the blessing, then the artist presents the figure to the mother. Following the blessing, family and friends sing while the mother dances to the music. This ends the celebration, but the ere Ibeji is not finished until the offerings performed by the parents at home are complete.
Ogbomosho
Yoruba Religion
Most people in Yorubaland belong to a world religion, either some form of Christianity or, more commonly, Islam. But in smaller, more rural areas, traditional Yoruba religion is still commonly practiced (Polo).
In Yoruba Mythology, the world was made by the creator Oludumare, or Olorun, from a ball of mud. Becoming bored with it, he sent his first son, Obatala, down to earth with a chicken, a divination board, and a gelede mask and ordered him to populate the world. Once on Earth, Obatala heard the sound of drums and followed it. There was a festival. Obatala was offered palm wine and drank so much of it, that he passed out underneath a tree. Olodumare was concerned, so he sent down his second son, Oduduwa, to check on Obatala. After finding him incapacitated, Oduduwa was then forced to populate the world for Obatala. Meanwhile, sixteen piles of dirt were scraped up by the chicken creating sixteen kingdoms. The first of course, was Ife the center of the world where life started.
Due to the slave trade in the 18th & 19th centuries, Yoruba religion has traveled as far as Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, Trinidad, and several major metropolitan areas of the United States. Although there are many variations of Yoruba beliefs, they all share a common praise reference to their origin… “Ife my home, Ile-Ife”.
The Yoruba believe in the immortality of the soul and in the reincarnation of every human being. Souls of the dead are re-born as babies within their own family, within the period of a generation or two. An ancestor will return sooner if all proper sacrifices and prayers are made to the dead. This encourages the youth to be kind to the elderly, so they will watch over them after death. Likewise, it is good to have many children so they can take of their parent as he ages (Polo).
Eniyan, which means “the self”, must seek to make their way through life by doing the following: strongly acknowledging all the various spirits and powers, going though prayer s and sacrifices that will help others, responding to those who seemingly—on their own initiative—make demands upon a person, and acknowledging the presence of the malevolent forces through sacrifice, all in the hope of keeping them at a distance (Pemberton).
The Yoruba imagine the universe of human experience as a closed calabash. All that exists is within the calabash: spirits, gods, ancestors, and the living. This is important, because it helps understand how an orisha can live on earth, as with twins. There is no other world in the sense of a metaphysical distinction between this world and the other (Pemberton).
Yoruba religion is better defined in terms of dynamic monotheism. Olorun-Olodumare is considered the one “supreme being.” He is the creator of all gods and life, yet he is not acknowledged or worshipped in day to day life. He can be connoted to the Judeo-Christian God, in the sense that he is benevolent; he only creates life. For example, although he created the ajogun who strike people with sickness, he also provided herbs and medicines to heal sickness (Horton).
- Olodumare: The concept connotes one who has the fullness or superlative greatness, the everlasting majesty upon whom man can depend (Horton).
- Olorun: The owner (Olorun), the heaven above or the Lord whose home is in heaven above. Sometimes the Yoruba use Olorun Olodumare together. This double word means the Supreme Being whose abode is in the heaven (Horton).
Distinctions are made between the living, who inhabit the world, aye, and a realm known as orun where the living dead/anscestors, ara orun, imole or oro (spirits), the orisa, as well as malevolent powers (known as ajorgun)live (Polo).
When a person suffers bad dreams, headaches, or depression, it is possible that he is being attacked by the magic powers of a witch. This can be prevented by medicines provided by the Babalawo, but the prescriptions and consultations can be expensive. If you cannot afford medicines, there are 2 ways to protect yourself. You can live a very honest life, which Eshu makes difficult often, or join a cult. Cult Communities have wide experience of magic and have possession of effective antidotes. The most powerful and well-known Cult Community is the secret society of Ogboni. Yet again, it’s expensive to join a large, secure cult, so many smaller, local cult communities can be joined for a more modest price.
Ifa is a divination system used by the Babalawo through the teachings of Orunmila, the god of wisdom. The Babalawo can forsee the future and how to handle future situations through these teachings. The Babalawo is the Ifa preist with religious responsibility for the village. He also charges a fee for all consultations and prescriptions. He is also the one to consult after the birth of twins. He describes the care needed to be given to twins, since he is able to communicate with the spirit realm.
A Yoruba will never hold himself responsible for something that goes wrong in life. Rather, he will blame a spiritual force for his misfortunes (Polo). The most common culprit is the trickster God, Eshu.
Eshu is the messenger of the gods, but also represents uncertainty, chance, violence & trouble. He also the god of the marketplace and the god of crossroads/decisions to make in life. Whenever an argument breaks or a misfortune happens, Eshu is said to be standing there. When the Eshu dance wand is held by the preistess or follower of Eshu, Eshu possesses them, speaking through them. He will “ride them like a horse.”
Elizabeth (“Libby”) Miller
Ibadan
Twins and Monkeys
Although now honored, reference to animalistic or non-human characteristics are still made through Edun (the colobus monkey). Before twins are born, they are said to make a deal with Edun in order to come out as humans and not monkeys.
The birth of twins is explained several ways in reference to the Edun. One story refers to when the goddess Peregun, the wife of the god Orunmila, leaves him and fornicates with various spiritual powers and animals. When she finally returns, they are told by Ifa that she will bear twins for Orunmila, but they must give sacrifices to ensure a satisfactory birth. A male/female set of twins are born, and are named Edun. The male twin studies Ifa, which he knew before birth from his father, and visits all the animals (whose languages he knows because of his mothers promiscuity). A second story tells of how Edun helped a lost Oba reconquer his city. In gratitude, he is admitted to a festival where Edun promises to reproduce himself among humans in a way that his children will look like humans. It was then that ibeji began to be born. Likewise, corn is often fed to ibeji, since corn is the monkey’s favorite food.
Twins, in death are like the Edun monkey; they can descend and ascend into the sky (trees) as they please: they can choose to be reborn or not to be reborn. Twins do not have individual souls, they share one soul. When the soul is divided half in orun and half in aye, it causes an extreme unbalance. So when one twin dies, the other may wish to follow in order to restore balance to the soul. In order to prevent this, the deceased soul can be held down or back, by weights and jewelry on the ere ibeji, from continuing to orun .
Some believe the twins share the same soul. They are call twins “ejire,” or “two who are one.” In this stance, each person on earth has a spiritual counterpart in the sky which duplicates his actions. It is this soul which is continually reborn in cyclical fashion. In the case of twins, the spirit double has been born on earth. Since there is no way of telling which is the heavenly being and which is the mortal, both are treated as sacred from birth.
Elizabeth (“Libby”) Miller
Angela Dieffenbach
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Oshogbo Male pair
Materials Used in the Creation of Ere Ibeji
The ere ibeji is formed out of the wood of the ire tree. This tree is chosen for its soft wood and ease of carving. The full ere ibeji figure may be carved in under one week. There are three types of ire tree in West Africa: the ire basabasa, or ire rubber; the ire ordan, or iredan; and the ire ona, or irena. The correct wood to use for carving ere ibeji is the irena, because only it will react to the ritual sacrifice of both preparing and caring for the twin. In preparation for carving, the entire tree is given a rooster, adiye ilagbe, as sacrifice before it is cut down. Once the tree is prepared, many ere ibeji may be carved from the same source, though each ibeji requires an adiye ilagbe as part of its commission.
The carver will choose to use only the ire ona, unless the family commissioning the ere ibeji does not properly compensate him, with initial payments of two dried fish, two snails, two dried rats, two kola nuts, two alligator peppers, four kegs of palm wine, sixteen pieces of big yam, four calabashes full of beans, four calabashes full of corn, four tins of palm oil, and two cocks or hens, depending on the sex of the deceased twin. In addition, parents must bring food and drink to the carver every day until the piece is finished. If the wrong wood is used by the carver, the entire ritual must start over, beginning with the consultation of the babalawo or diviner.
Carving of the ere ibeji has six stages. First is the sisa, when the log of the ire tree is cut into the correct size to accommodate one ibeji, between nine and twelve inches on average. Next, the adze and chisel are used to define the major body sections, onalile, such as the head, torso, and legs. In aletunle, the various body parts are refined. The rough carving of the figure is completed in the smoothing stage, or didan. In the finfin, the aesthetic patterns are added to the external body. Finally, the face marks of the father’s lineage, analogous to human scarification, are carved. The leftover scrapings from the ere ibeji, including the face marks, are regarded as very effective medicine by the Yoruba. Upon receiving the ere ibeji, the mother may never burn the wood of the ire tree again.
The materials and treatments given to the ere ibeji by the commissioning family are used for both ritual significance and beautification. They can serve to illustrate the importance of twins in their own right or their relationship with a patron deity, most often the orisa Shango. Many legends can be attributed to the link of Shangoand ibeji. One story states that one brother of Shango, King Ajaka, fathered twins and catalyzed the practices of honoring twins. Another story says that a supposed son of Shango was said to have fathered nine sets of twins, making Shango their grandfather. Lastly, Shango himself is often said to have fathered the first set of twins in Yorubaland. No matter what account, as descendants of the royal fourth king of Oyo, the oba Shango, twins are invested with the importance and power of this ruling lineage. In addition, twins are regarded as sacred spiritual beings, orisa, which share the same soul, and are capable of bringing great wealth if honored accordingly–or enormous suffering if neglected. All decoration is therefore befitting of their religious and or political birthright.
A decoration often found in the Oyo area is the abatiaja hat, a conical shaped article with flaps covering the ears, often likened to the great conical crown adenla worn by the obas of the Yoruba. The adenla is worn only by those who can trace their descent from the first oba, Oduduwa. One difference is that the abatiaja lacks the veil of the adenla which covers the oba’s face. A reason for this might be that the adenla is seen as an orisa itself, and that the identity of the oba wearing it is only consequential. A twin however, is an orisa, or spirit, also, and so its hat lacks this masking veil due to the twin’s importance. If the abatiaja-adenla linkis accurate it would seem to bolster the lineage of twins through Shango, who was the grandson of Oduduwa. However, if the adenla link is minor, then the abatiaja may be just an adornment meant to accentuate the head, ori, and the inner head, ori inu. This gives substance to the beliefs which make twins so mysterious, as the ori inu is the principal way in which one seeks to know their destiny.
Another ornament where the spiritual and political attributes of twins intersect with beautification is clothing. Clothing may easily represent the wealth of the twin’s family through the use of cowry shells, pearls, beads, or other costly items, and can bring wealth also if honored properly. A living twin and its ere ibeji counterpart will likely wear the same clothing to emphasize their connection. These tunics and robes have other obvious parallels to the clothing of obas and orisa priests and priestesses used at religious gatherings and political festivals. These regalia are decorated in symbolic imagery that is important to the family and the cults of the orisas which they worship. An important symbol to the worship of an orisa is the abstract face, as it is said the robe or tunic is a shrine at which one can interface with the spiritual. Faces may be numerous on the clothing item, symbolizing further oriki praise hymns and legend, or the wearer’s ability to see completely. Patterns also point to ideas or associations, such as an interlace or woven pattern for royalty. A checkerboard pattern may symbolize knowledge or human intelligence. The zigzag pattern is often associated with the path of ancestors and or serpents. It can also reference the orisa Shango, who controls the thunderbolt. An ibeji robe covered only in cowries is reminiscent of those worn by Shango priests, as well. Bundles of cowry shells, worn at the wrists or ankles, always signify wealth instead of a particular orisa. No aesthetic addition is without significance.
Color is likewise used symbolically and ornamentally. Colorful beads are used ubiquitously as a marker of the privileged ruling class who once controlled the trade routes, and hence could readily acquire beads. The primary colors of a garment or decoration may identify a particular orisa that is significant to the twin’s family, invoking its protection while honoring the god. A wide variety of colors may still be used to call attention to the figure’s status and importance. This added attention may also bring wealth to the family. Beads adorning the neck or waist of the ere ibeji symbolize the patron orisa of the mother or family. A common color combination is red and white, symbolic of the balance of violence and calm credited to Shango, but also to twins themselves. Dark blue is often used to balance red, standing for calm, serenity, and a depth of wisdom or mystery.
Dark blue applied to the figure’s head is usually derived from indigo, elu, a pigment which can be derived from a variety of plants, mainly of the family Indigofera. This pigment may be produced synthetically, as well. Another commonly used dye is Rickets blue washing powder, which is fixed to a waji cloth and rubbed against the ibeji hair. The same ritual would be performed on a live twin as documented during the nineteenth-century custom, wherein mothers had a child painted with camwood and his head painted with indigo.
Camwood powder, osun, is derived from the tree Baphia nitida, found in West African countries. This red dye comes from the bark and heart of the tree, and like indigo it is soluble in an alkali solution, making it a favorable counterpart for application. The color may signify Shango for some families, and is used to decorate and protect the ere ibeji.
Esie
Food and drink also become material to the ere ibeji through regular feedings by the mother or another family member. These feedings happen every five to seven days, though may occur more often. Suitable twin foods include epa, groundnuts, akara, fried cornmeal cake, isu, fried yam, kola, and ireke, sugar cane. Most important is ewa, a blend of beans and palm oil and the twins’ favorite food. Ewa is said to soothe the hot-headed twins and cool their stomachs, thought to be the seat of anger in Yorubaland. This pacifying mixture is also found on shrines to Eshu, the trickster.
With time, new materials and conventions have become incorporated into the creation of the ere ibeji. Just as traded glass beads entered the tradition of adornment in Africa during the seventeenth century, so too have new pigments arrived. Nontraditional camwood substitutes such as chalks, powders, synthetics, and acrylics have been seen on ibeji handled in the customary methods. Omolangidi are long-established dolls in Yoruba culture, but can be used as ere ibeji and involved in the same rites. These simplified forms with naturalistic heads can be easier to care for than traditional carving. Manufactured plastic dolls, often made in Nigeria, are readily available in Yorubaland. This variation is not shocking, considering that traditional omolangidi are also replacing ere ibeji.
The least conventional substitute for ere ibeji is the photograph, becoming especially prevalent among Christian and Muslim parents. The extent to which photographs are ceremonially treated is not readily known, though photographs are a celebration of twindom that extends beyond the Yoruba. Double portraits can commemorate many different relationships, but the similarity between these and actual twin pictures, or foto ibeji, is considerable. One marker of foto ibeji is the use of identical reproduction on the same photograph because of the deceased twin. This can be achieved with a double exposure on film, the use of a mirror, or a duplicated print of a single twin. These photos can also be commissioned to mark an important event, such as a birthday, a success, or an anniversary in which it would be shameful not to recognize the deceased.
Use of these nontraditional substitutes may occur for a number of reasons. Most frequent is the exception sought by the Muslim or Christian Yoruba who bypasses the babalawo, who would prescribe the full ceremonial observation of the traditional ere ibeji. This allows the family of the deceased twin to practice the unorthodox habits of the surrounding area. The price of commission or ease of access to a substitute figure versus the traditionally carved statue may also influence the family. It is undisputed, however, that there is ritual and religious significance to these substitutes.
James Curry
Bibliography
Stoll, Mareidi, and Gert Stoll. Twin Figures of the Yoruba. Munich, 1980. 24–334.
Micheli, Angelo C. “Doubles and Twins: A New Approach to Contemporary Studio Photography in West Africa.” African Arts (Spring 2008): 66–85.
Houlberg, Marilyn Hammersley. “Ibeji Images of the Yoruba.” African Arts 7, 1 (Autumn 1973): 2092.
Pemberton, John III. African Beaded Art: Power and Adornment. Northhampton, MA: Smith College Museum of Art, 2008. 3–105.
Lorenz, Carol. African Shapes of the Sacred: Yoruba Religious Art in the Longyear Museum of Anthropology. Hamilton, NY: Colgate University, 2006. 3–28.
Thompson, Robert Farris. “Sons of Thunder: Twin Images among the Oyo and Other Yoruba Groups.” African Arts 4, 3 (Spring 1971): 8–80.
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Ilorin
Twins’ Clothing
Clothing represents the wealth of the twin’s family through the use of cowry shells, pearls, beads, or other costly items, and can also bring wealth. A living twin and its carved counterpart usually wear the same clothing to emphasize their connection. Their tunics and robes have other obvious parallels to the clothing worn at religious gatherings and political festivals by obas (kings), orisas (spirits), and male and female priests.
Robes are decorated in symbolic imagery that is important to the family and the cults of the orisas which they worship. An important symbol to the worship of an orisa is the abstract face on the robe, as it is said that the robe or tunic is a shrine at which one can interact with the spiritual. Faces may be numerous on the clothing item, symbolizing further praise hymns and legend or the wearer’s ability to see completely.
Patterns, such as an interlace or woven pattern for royalty, also point to ideas or associations. A checkerboard pattern may symbolize knowledge or human intelligence. The zigzag pattern is often associated with the path of ancestors and/or serpents. It can also refer to the orisa Shango, who controls the thunderbolt. An ibeji robe covered only in cowries is similar to those worn by Shango priests, as well. Bundles of cowry shells, worn at the wrists or ankles, always signify wealth instead of a particular orisa. No aesthetic addition is without significance.
A decoration often found in the Oyo area is the abatiaja hat, a conical shaped hat with flaps covering the ears, often likened to the great conical crown, adenla, worn by the kings of the Yoruba. The adenla is worn only by those who can trace their descent from the first (king) oba, Oduduwa. One difference is that the abatiaja lacks the veil of the adenla which covers the oba’s face. A reason for this might be that the adenla is seen as an orisa itself, and the identity of the oba wearing it is only consequential. A twin, however, is an orisa or spirit also, and its hat lacks this masking veil because of the twin’s importance. If the abatiaja-adenla linkis accurate, it would seem to bolster the lineage of twins through Shango, who was the grandson of Oduduwa. However, if the adenla link is minor, then the abatiaja may just be an adornment meant to accentuate the head, ori, and the inner head, ori inu. This gives substance to the beliefs which make twins so mysterious, as the ori inu is the principal way in which one seeks to know their destiny.
Various adornments are employed as protection for the ere ibeji. Bronze, brass, or iron rings can be observed at the wrists or ankles of a twin, and symbolically restrain the restless twin spirit. Metal bands are seen particularly if the ere ibeji has a surviving twin because, should the spirit escape to the spiritual world, it may tempt its twin to do the same. Brass bracelets representing the river goddess Oshun are used to bring fertility. Special flared metal anklets are thought to ward off Abiku spirits, the spirit of a single twin which is continuously reborn to the same mother, also capable of tempting the living twin to its death. Impressions of these same decorations may be carved into the wrists and ankles. Palm-nut waist beads guard against disease. Likewise, an Islamic amulet, or tirah, is often carved to protect the twin from illness and adversity. When necessary, lead or silver nails may be driven into the face to protect the carved eyes from severe wear due to handling.
James Curry
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Aesthetics of Yoruba Ere Ibeji
In order to understand African art, one must consider not only the formal aspects (material, carving techniques, pigments, markings, decoration, etc.) but also, and essentially, the aesthetic qualities. For the Yoruba, what makes the ere ibeji figures more than simply carved likenesses of deceased twins (which indeed they are not) but actually imbues them with meaningfulness, is the intentionality not only of the artist, but of those who commission the work, and of the Yoruba community in general.
Ere ibeji are made to represent the deceased twin in his or her prime, not at the age at which he or she died, which often is in infancy. Aesthetically, then, the figures are not accurate naturalistic portraits. Some scholars, such as T.J.H. Chappell, explain this “inconsistency” by emphasizing that the principal function of the ere ibeji is “to serve as a repository for the child’s spirit so that it may return to this world and resume its journey to adulthood.” A noteworthy feature of ere ibeji is the disproportionately large head of the majority of them, which represents its the cultural and spiritual significance. The Yoruba attach great importance to the head, as it is a symbol of the “personality, which controls the destiny of each individual.” For this reason, the head serves as the focal point for many Yoruba rituals. In addition, because the ere ibeji commemorates a deceased child, and since infants in particular have significantly larger heads in proportion to the rest of their bodies, it is reasonable to assume that this characteristic references infantile proportions.
Other physical aesthetic qualities of Yoruba artwork include “resemblance (jijora), balance (idogba), clarity (ifarahun), smoothness (didon), detail (fifin) . . . skillful embellishment of form (ona), innovation/creativity (ara) . . . and aliveness (idahun).” (H. Drewal)
The artist is also required to have many specific virtues. He (for all creators of ere ibeji are men) must be “a good person, of good character, friendly and interested in others . . . He must not be ill-tempered.” But even more, he “must possess oju-inu (‘inner eye’) by which he discerns the iwa (essential nature) and understands the oriki (‘citation poetry’ of his artistic subject” (H. Drewal). This is at the heart of Yoruba aesthetics.
Ase, the “life force,” or “spirit,” with which ere ibeji are endowed, is the most important aspect of Yoruba aesthetics in general. Ase is defined as “that divine essence in which physical materials, metaphysical concepts, and art blend to form the energy or life force activating and directing socio-political, religious, and artistic processes and experiences. Ase fundamentally informs the Yoruba aesthetic” (R. Abiodun). For this reason, one cannot analyze most Yoruba art in strictly formal terms; too much is lost that is essential to the work itself. In Yoruba land, an artwork is not ontologically complete until it has been “activated” through a series of incantations, invocations (during which the ere ibeji, in this case, is imbued with the spirit of the deceased twin for which it was created in the first place), and other offerings. These offerings often continue for generations (which speaks to the intentionality of those who commission the works, and the community at large), and are an integral part of what makes these artworks ere ibeji as opposed to simply carved artifacts.
There are five important components involved in Yoruba aesthetics, the first being ase, which is “the ground of all creative activity.” Next is ori, which refers to the head, and is related to one’s personal destiny. Each person is said to have his or her own personal orisa, or god spirit to whom they are to pray and make sacrifices. In return, this orisa acts as “the power that stands surety for the potential that [one’s] life contains.” The third component, iwa, is very important, because it relates to the “essential nature” of a person or a thing. Until an ere ibeji has been endowed with this particular component, it remains simply a carving. The fourth is ewa, and this directly involves an understanding of beauty — but not just physical beauty. Beauty for the Yoruba involves craftsmanship, to be sure, but it also depends upon a less-easily defined quality which is directly related to the iwa. In order for an art object to be considered beautiful, to contain ewa, it must be “the fulfillment, the expression, of one’s essential nature.” Again, this goes for people as well as for art. Finally, the fifth component is ona. Ona is the artist’s ability to convey the essential nature of the artwork in the form. It is a quality that any artist must embody if he or she is to be appreciated as a real artist. Ona is “creative imagination which finds expression in the transformation of raw materials into new forms” (R. Abiodun).
Wendy A. Parker
Claire Smessaert
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Abeokuta
An Overview of Traditional Yoruba Religion
Most people in Yorubaland belong to a world religion, either some form of Christianity or, more commonly, Islam. But in smaller, more rural areas, traditional Yoruba religion is still commonly practiced.
In Yoruba mythology, the world was made by the creator Oludumare from a ball of mud. Becoming bored with it, he sent his first son, Obatala, down to earth with a chicken, a divination board, and a gelede mask and ordered him to populate the world. Once on earth, Obatala heard the sound of drums and followed it. There was a festival. Obatala was offered palm wine and drank so much of it that he passed out underneath a tree. Olodumare was concerned, so he sent down his second son, Oduduwa, to check on Obatala. After finding Obatala incapacitated, Oduduwa was forced to populate the world himself. Meanwhile, sixteen piles of dirt were scraped up by the chicken, creating sixteen kingdoms. The first of course, was Ife, the center of the world where life started.
Because of the slave trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Yoruba religion has traveled as far as Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, Trinidad, and several major metropolitan areas of the United States. Although there are many variations of Yoruba beliefs, they all share a common praise reference to their origin: “Ife my home, Ile-Ife.”
The Yoruba believe in the immortality of the soul and the reincarnation of every human being. Souls of the dead are reborn as babies within their own family, within the period of a generation or two. An ancestor will return sooner if all proper sacrifices and prayers are made to the dead. This encourages the youth to be kind to the elderly, so they will watch over them after death. Likewise, it is good to have many children so they can take of their parents as they age.
Eniyan, which means “the self,” must seek to make its way through life by doing the following: strongly acknowledging all the various spirits and powers; going though prayers and sacrifices that will help others; responding to those who seemingly—on their own initiative—make demands upon a person; and acknowledging the presence of the malevolent forces through sacrifice, all in the hope of keeping them at a distance.
One theory as to why ere ibeji have such disproportionately large heads is related to the spiritual references pertaining to the head, where the spirit is often said to reside. There are three very important concepts of thought concerning one’s own spirit. Ore inu (“inner head”) is a personal destiny one has chosen while kneeling before Olorun before entering the world of the living. Its counterpart, ekeji mi (“my other”), is in the spirit realm and may help to achieve a chosen life, but will be of no help if ignored. Ore ode (“outer head”) refers to the physical world that can be perceived by the senses.
The Yoruba imagine the universe of human experience as a closed calabash. All that exists is within the calabash: spirits, gods, ancestors, and the living. This is important, because it helps understand how an orisha can live on earth, as with twins. There is no other world in the sense of a metaphysical distinction between this world and the other.
Yoruba religion is best defined in terms of dynamic monotheism. Olorun-Olodumare is considered the one supreme being. He is the creator of all gods and life, yet he is not acknowledged or worshipped in day-to-day life. He can be equated to one interpretation of the Judeo-Christian God, in the sense that he is benevolent; he only creates life. For example, although he created the ajogun who strike people with sickness, he also provided herbs and medicines to heal sickness.
Olodumare:The concept connotes one who has the fullness or superlative greatness, the everlasting majesty upon whom humanity can depend.
Olorun: The owner, or the heaven above, or the lord whose home is in heaven above. Sometimes the Yoruba use “Olorun –Olodumare.” This double word means the supreme being whose abode is in the heaven.
When a person suffers bad dreams, headaches, or depression, it is possible that he is being attacked by the magic powers of a witch. This can be prevented by medicines provided by the babalawo, the Ifa priest with religious responsibility for the village, but the prescriptions and consultations can be expensive. If you cannot afford medicines, there are two ways to protect yourself: You can live a very honest life, which Eshu often makes difficult, or join a cult. Cult communities have wide experience in magic and possess effective antidotes. The most powerful and best-known cult community is the secret society of Ogboni. Yet again, it’s expensive to join a large, secure cult, so many smaller, local cult communities can be joined for a more modest price.
Ifa is a divination system used by the babalawo through the teachings of Orunmila, the god of wisdom. The babalawo can foresee the future and knows how to handle future situations through these teachings. He charges a fee for consultations and prescriptions. He is also the one to consult after the birth of twins. He describes the care needed to be given to twins, since he is able to communicate with the spirit realm.
A Yoruba will never hold him- or herself responsible for something that goes wrong in life. Rather, he or she will blame a spiritual force for misfortunes. The most common culprit is the trickster God, Eshu. Eshu is the messenger of the gods, but also represents uncertainty, chance, violence, and trouble. He is also the god of the marketplace and the god of crossroads/decisions to make in life. Whenever an argument breaks out or a misfortune ocurs, Eshu is said to be standing there. When the Eshu dance wand is held by the female priest or follower of Eshu, Eshu possesses her, speaking through her.
The birth of twins (Taiwo, followed by Kehinde) is almost always considered too much of a good thing. To return to normalcy, a woman wishes to have two single, normal births after the birth of twins. The child born after twins, regardless of sex, is named “Idowu” and is equated with Eshu, the Yoruba trickster deity. Any rowdy behavior the child displays is seen as his connection with Eshu. The next child is called Alaba, and it is he or she that returns life to ordinary terms. Idowu is said to land “fast and hard,” while Alaba floats softly to make everything normal.
There are several commonalities between Eshu and ibeji. Palm oil is placed on Eshu shrines to cool his anger. Likewise, when ibeji are upset, they are fed beans to pacify their anger. Both twins and Eshu require sacrifice or honor, otherwise they will suffer serious consequences. Twins, like Eshu, should be given tribute in order to receive good fortune; if not, they could cause harm to the parents or unsuspecting individual. Ibeji inflict their own retribution, while Eshu tricks people into making the orisa punish them.
Shango is the giver and father of twins, as well as the Yoruba god of thunder. He is also thought to bless women with fertility. In almost all forms of Yoruba religion he is described as a protective senior relative of twins (i.e., father of twins, uncle, grandfather, etc.). For this reason, twins demand honor because they descend from the thunder god.
Long ago, twins were regarded as an unnatural, ominous event. Twinning was often associated with promiscuity, animality, and/or sexual encounters with spirits. Twins (and sometimes the mother) were often killed. It is unclear when or why the change to their present position of honor occurred. Here is one common version regarding the change: A couple from a group in the Isokun quarter in Oyo, not understanding their having had twins, consulted the Ifa divinity. He said it would be fine to keep the twins, provided they performed a sacrifice for them. They did so, and as a result the parents became very rich. When the rest of the village heard this, they decided to honor their twins, in the hope that they would also become rich.
Although now honored, reference to animalistic or nonhuman characteristics are still made through Edun (the colobus monkey). Before twins are born, they are said to make a deal with Edun in order to come out as humans and not as monkeys.
The occurrence of twins is explained several ways in reference to Edun. The goddess Peregun, the wife of the god Orunmila, left him and fornicated with various spiritual powers and animals. When she finally returned, she was told by Ifathat she would bear twins for Orunmila, but they must give sacrifices to ensure a satisfactory birth. A male/female pair of twins was born, and were named Edun. The male twin studied Ifa divination, which he knew before birth from his father, and visited all the animals (whose languages he knew because of his mother’s promiscuity). A second story tells of how Edun helped a lost oba find his city. In gratitude, he was admitted to a festival where Edun promised to reproduce himself among humans in such a way that his children would look like humans. It was then that ibeji began to be born.
Some believe that twins share the same soul. They call twins ejire, or “two who are one.” In this stance, each person on earth has a spiritual counterpart in the sky which duplicates his actions. It is this soulwhich is continually reborn in cyclical fashion. In the case of twins, the spirit double has been born on earth. Since there is no way of telling which is the heavenly being and which is the mortal, both are treated as sacred from birth.
Twins are in death like the Edun monkey; they can descend and ascend into the sky (trees) as they please. When the soul is caused to lie half in orun and half in aye, it causes an extreme unbalance. Thus when one twin dies, the other may wish to follow in order to restore balance to the soul. In order to prevent this, the deceased soul can be held back by weights and jewelry on the ere ibeji.
Elizabeth Miller
Bibliography
Horton, Hal. “Yoruba Religion and Myth.” African Postcolonial Literature in English in the Postcolonial Web. Access 17 August 2010 at http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/yorubarel.html.
Houlberg, Marilyn Hammersley. “Ibeji Images of the Yoruba.” African Arts 7, 1 (Autumn 1973): 20–92.
Pemberton, John III. “Ere Ibeji: An Affirmation of Life in the Face of Death.” In John Pemberton III, John Picton, and Lamidi O. Fakeye, Ibeji: The Cult of Twins. Five Continents Editions, 2006. 31–39.
Polo, Fausto, and Jean David. Catalogue of the Ibeji. Zurich: Galerie Walu, 2001.
Thompson, Robert Farris. “Sons of Thunder: Twin Images among the Oyo and Other Yoruba Groups.” African Arts 4, 3 (1971): 8–80.
Visona, Monica B., et al. A History of Art in Africa. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, 2008. 228–253.
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Shaki
Patination/change of surface with use
How twin figures are used:
Bibliography
Chappel, T. J. H. The Yoruba Cult of Twins in Historical Perspective. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Jul., 1974), pp. 250-265.
Chemeche, George. Reflection on Yoruba Twin Figures by a Western Artist. in Ibeji: the Cult of Yoruba twins, G. Chemeche, J. Pemberton, et al. Milan, 5 Continents Editions, (2003), pp. 23-25.
Colgate Univeristy. African Shapes of the Sacred: Yoruba Religious Art in the Lonyear Museum of Anthropology. Colgate University: Hamilton, NY, 2006. pp 3-28.
Drewal, Margaret Thompson. Projections from the Top in Yoruba Art. African Arts, Vol.11, No. 1 (Oct., 1977), pp.43-92.
Fakeye, Lamidi O. Commissioned in Yorubaland. in Ibeji: the Cult of Yoruba twins, G. Chemeche, J. Pemberton, et al. Milan, 5 Continents Editions, (2003), pp 27-29.
Houlberg, Marilyn Hammersley. Ibeji Images of the Yoruba. African Arts, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Autumn, 1973), pp. 20-92.
Imperato, Pascal James and Gavin H. Imperato. Twins, Hermaphrodites, and an Androgynous Albino Deity: Twins and Scuplted Twin Figures among the Bamana and Maninka of Mali. African Arts, Spring 2008. pp 40-49.
Kasfir, Sidney Littlefield. African Art and Authenticity: A Text with a Shadow. African Arts, Vol. 25, No. 2 (April, 1992), pp. 41-97.
Lamp, Frederick John. Temne Twins (Tà-bàri) Should Share Everything: Do You Mean Everything?. African Arts, Spring 2008. pp 50-65.
Lawal, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yoruba Art and Culture. African Arts, Spring 2008. pp 24-39.
Micheli,C. Angelo. Doubles and Twins: A New Approach to Contemporary Studio Photography in West Africa. African Arts, Spring 2008. pp 66-85.
Peek, Philip M. Couples or Doubles? Representations of Twins in the Arts of Africa. African Arts, Spring 2008. pp 14-23.
Pemberton, John III. African Beaded Art: Power and Adornment. Smith College Museum of Art: Northhampton, MA, 2008.
Pemberton, John III. Ere Ibeji: Life in the Face of Death. in Ibeji: the Cult of Yoruba twins, G. Chemeche, J. Pemberton, et al. Milan, 5 Continents Editions, (2003), pp 31-48.
Steiner, Christopher B. The Trade in West African Art. African Arts, Vol.24, No. 1 (Jan., 1991), pp. 38-101.
Stoll, Mareidi and Gert Stoll. Twin Figures of the Yoruba. Gert and Mereidi Stoll: Germany , 1980.
Thompson, Robert Farris. Sons of Thunder: Twin Images among the Oyo and Other Yoruba Groups. African Arts, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring, 1971), pp. 8-80.
Virtual Botanic Garden; http://www.virboga.de/Baphia_nitida.htm
Ilorin male/female pair
Adaptation to new uses and religions
Lindsay E. Shannon
Continuity and Change in Ere Ibeji
The “traditional” art form of ere Ibeji seen in this exhibition continues to be made by artists who serve the community around them. These treasured figures are still the most sought-after pieces by collectors and museums today. However, in the twentieth century and beyond, new forms began to be used to fulfill the needs of ibeji and reflect the changes that take place in every culture over time.
Some contemporary ere Ibeji are carved by the same artists who carve “traditional” Ibeji figures. Smaller ere Ibeji (Fig. 1-2) have been created, usually requested by individuals for whom mobility is a concern. According to scholar Marilyn Houlberg, most “traditional” ere Ibeji average about ten inches in height, varying slightly by region. Smaller figures can be about half this height and scale to accommodate being taken along on frequent travel by the caretaker.
One of the most striking contemporary needs arose within the Yoruba Muslim and Christian communities. The influence of these religions has discouraged many adherents from continuing traditional Yoruba practices, although some see no conflict and even draw connections between their Yoruba and Christian or Muslim identities (Micheli, 80-81). The necessity to conform to iconoclasm and to honor twins has created some simplified ere Ibeji (Fig. 3-4), which appear similar in form to carved Yoruba dolls.
Other contemporary developments arose which do not utilize the community artists who carve “traditional” ere Ibeji. Plastic dolls available in the local marketplace have been occasionally seen in use as ere Ibeji, as in Fig. 5, possibly due to the expense that commissioning an artist to carve an ere Ibeji entails. In form, these dolls are ere Ibeji, as they are cared for and fulfill the same purpose as carved pieces, although they are certainly not as attractive or valuable to most outsiders.
Another striking combination of contemporary life with traditional practice is double-portrait photography. According to C. Angelo Micheli, this type of photograph is used by many people in West Africa to illustrate a relationship or personal achievement. Photographs of twins or foto ibeji can be presented as an image of the two siblings or as a double portrait of one individual—seen in duplicate, reflected in a mirror, or double-exposure. (Fig. 6) The latter is more common for commemoration as an ere ibeji, as the death of one twin at an early age will necessitate the need to photograph and present the remaining twin as the pair.
Bibliography:
Houlberg, Marilyn Hammersley. “Ibeji Images of the Yoruba”, African Arts, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Autumn, 1973), p. 20-92.
Micheli, C. Angelo. “Doubles and Twins, A New Approach to Contemporary Studio Photography in West Africa”, African Arts, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Spring, 2008), p. 66-85.
Image sources:
Fig. 1. Small ere Ibeji, Simon collection (130a).
Fig. 2. Miniature Twin Images Carved in 1960 at Okebola, near Ogbomosho, Oyo. Ht. 4.9" and 4.4", p. 24.
Fig. 3. Simplified Form of Twin Image Owned by a Muslim Couple Represents Their Twin Son Who Died in 1967. Igangan, Oyo. Ht. 5.6", p. 26.
Fig. 4. A Perfectly Simple Cylinder Carved in 1967 Represents the Deceased Twin Son of a Christian Woman of Igbo-Ijaiye, Oyo. August, 1970, p. 27.
Fig. 5. Mother of Twins at Igbo-Ora, Oyo, Uses a Plastic Doll to Represent Her Twin Son Who Died in 1970, p. 26.
*Fig. 2-5, photographs by Marilyn Hammersley Houlberg, published in “Ibeji Images of the Yoruba”, African Arts, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Autumn, 1973), p. 20-92.
Fig. 6. Double photography/Twin photography from C. Angelo Micheli or CCP@UArizona
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Ila Orangun
Materials
Jim Curry
At its core, the ere ibeji is formed out of the wood of the ire tree. This tree is chosen for its soft wood and ease of carving. The full ere ibeji figure may be carved in under one week. There are three types of ire tree in West Africa: the ire basabasa, or ire rubber; the ire ordan, or iredan; and the ire ona, or irena. The correct wood to use for carving ere ibeji is the irena, because only it will react to the ritual sacrifice of both preparing and caring for the twin. In preparation for carving, the entire tree is given a rooster, adiye ilagbe, as sacrifice before cutting down. Once the tree is prepared, many ere ibeji may be carved from the same source, though each ibeji requires an adiye ilagbe as part of its commission (Chemeche/ Fakaye).
The carver will only choose to use the ire ona, unless the family commissioning the ere ibeji does not properly compensate the carver. This includes initial payments of two dried fish, two snails, two dried rats, two kola nuts, two alligator peppers, four kegs of palmwine, sixteen pieces of big yam, four calabash full of beans, four calabash full of corn, four tins of palm oil and two cocks or hens depending on the sex of the deceased twins. In addition, parents must bring food and drink to the carver every day until the piece is finished. If the wrong wood is used by the carver, the entire ritual must start over beginning with the consultation of the babalawo or diviner (Chemeche/Fakaye).
Carving of the ere ibeji is composed of six stages. First is the sisa, where the log of the ire tree is cut into the correct size to accommodate one ibeji, between nine and twelve inches on average. Next, the adze and chisel are used to define the major body sections, onalile, such as the head, torso and legs. In aletunle, the various body parts are refined. The rough carving of the figure is complete in the smoothing stage, or didan. In the finfin, the aesthetic patterns are added to the external body. Finally, the face marks of the father’s lineage, analogous to human scarification, are carved (Chemeche). The scrapings of the ere ibeji, including the face marks, are regarded as very effective medicine by the Yoruba (Stoll, 68). Upon receiving the ere ibeji, the mother may never burn the wood of the ire tree again (Chemeche/Fakaye).
The materials and treatments given to the ere ibeji by the commissioning family next are used for both ritual significance and beautification. They can serve to illustrate the importance of twins in their own right or its relationship with a patron deity, most often the orisa Shango(Pemberton, 9; Stoll, 60-70). Many legends can be attributed to the link of Shango and ibeji. One story states that one brother of Shango, King Ajaka, fathered twins and catalyzed the practices to honor twins. Another story of a supposed son of Shango was said to have fathered nine sets of twins, making Shango their grandfather. Lastly, Shango himself is often attributed as having fathered the first set of twins in Yorubaland. No matter what account, as descendants of the royal fourth king of Oyo, the oba Shango, twins are invested with the importance and power of this ruling lineage (Pemberton, 9). In addition, twins are regarded as sacred spiritual beings, orisa, which share the same soul, and are capable of bringing great wealth if honored accordingly- or enormous suffering if neglected (Houlberg, 23). All decoration is therefore befitting of their incredible religious and or political birthright.
A decoration often found in the Oyo area is the abatiaja hat, a conical shaped article with flaps covering the ears, often likened to the great conical crown adenla worn by the obas of the Yoruba. The adenla is worn only by those who can trace their descent from the first oba, Oduduwa. One difference is that the abatiaja lacks the veil of the adenla which covers the oba’s face. A reason for this might be that the adenla is seen as an orisa itself, and that the identity of the oba wearing it is only consequential. A twin however, is an orisa or spirit also, and so its hat lacks this masking veil due to the twin’s importance. If the abatiaja-adenla linkis accurate it would seem to bolster the lineage of twins through Shango, who was the grandson of Oduduwa. However, if the adenla link is minor, then the abatiaja may just be an adornment meant to accentuate the head, ori, and the inner head, ori inu. This gives substance to the beliefs which make twins so mysterious, as the ori inu is the principal way in which one seeks to know their destiny.
Another ornament where the spiritual and political attributes of twins intersect with beautification is clothing. Clothing may easily represent the wealth of the twin’s family through the use of cowry shells, pearls, beads, or other costly items, and can bring wealth also if honored properly. A living twin and its ere ibeji counterpart will likely wear the same clothing to emphasize their connection (Chemeche/Fakeye). These tunics and robes have other obvious parallels to the clothing of obas and orisa priests and priestesses used at religious gatherings and political festivals. These regalia are decorated in symbolic imagery that is important to the family and the cults of the orisas which they worship. An important symbol to the worship of an orisa is the abstract face, as it is said the robe or tunic is a shrine at which one can interface with the spiritual. Faces may be numerous on the clothing item, symbolizing further oriki praise hymns and legend, or the wearer’s ability to see completely. Patterns also point to ideas or associations, such as an interlace or woven pattern for royalty. A checkerboard pattern may symbolize knowledge or human intelligence. The zigzag pattern is often associated with the path of ancestors and or serpents. It can also reference the orisa Shango, who controls the thunderbolt (Pemberton, 11-12, 95). An ibeji robe covered only in cowries is reminiscent of those worn by Shango priests, as well. Bundles of cowry shells, worn at the wrists or ankles, always signify wealth instead of a particular orisa. (Stoll, 70-71). No aesthetic addition is without significance.
Color is likewise used symbolically and ornamentally. Colorful beads are used ubiquitously as a marker of the privileged ruling class who once controlled the trade routes, and hence could readily acquire beads. The primary colors of a garment or decoration may identify a particular orisa which is significant to the twin’s family, invoking its protection while honoring the god. A wide variety of colors may still be used to call attention to the figure’s status and importance. This added attention may also bring wealth to the family (Pemberton, 12). Beads adorning the neck or waist of the ere ibeji symbolize the patron orisa of the mother or family. A common color combination is red and white, symbolic of the balance of violence and calm credited to Shango, but also to twins themselves. Dark blue is often used to balance red, standing for calm, serenity and a depth of wisdom or mystery (Colgate University, 17-19, 22-23).
Abeokuta
Dark blue applied to the figure’s head is usually derived from indigo, elu, a pigment which can be derived from a variety of plants, mainly of the family Indigofera. This pigment may be produced synthetically, as well. Another commonly used dye is Rickets blue washing powder, which is fixed to a waji cloth and rubbed against the ibeji hair (indigopage.com; Chemeche/Fakaye). The same ritual would be performed on a live twin as documented during the nine-teenth century custom, “whereby mothers took a child born through the intercession of the thundergod and said ‘Look, Shango, this is the child you gave me,’ had a ram killed for seven days of feasting, and the child painted with camwood and his head painted with indigo” (Thompson, 11-13). Camwood powder osun is derived from the tree Baphia nitida, found in West African countries. The dye comes from the bark and heart of the tree, and like indigo it is soluble in alkali solution, making it a favorable counterpart for application. The red camwood powder color may signify Shango for some families, and is used to decorate and protect the ere ibeji (Virtual Botanic Garden; Colgate University, 22)
Food and drink also become material to the ere ibeji through ritual feedings done by the mother, or another family member. These feedings happen every five days to a week, though may occur more often. Suitable twin foods include epa, ground nuts, akara, fried corn meal cake, isu, fried yam, kola and ireke, sugar cane (Chemeche/Fakeye). Most importantly, ewa, a blend of beans and palm-oil is the twins’ favorite food. Ewa is said to soothe the hot-headed twins and cool their stomach, thought to be the seat of anger in Yorubaland. This pacifying mixture is also found on shrines to orisa Eshu, the trickster (Houlberg, 22-25).
Various solitary adornments are employed as protection for the ere ibeji. Bronze, brass or iron rings can be observed at the wrists or ankles of an ibeji, and symbolically restrain the restless twin spirit. Metal bands are particularly seen if the ere ibeji has a surviving twin, because should the spirit escape to the spiritual world it may tempt its twin to do the same. Bass bracelets representing the river goddess Oshun are used to bring fertility. Special metal flared anklets are thought to ward off Abiku spirits, the spirit of a single twin which is continuously reborn to the same mother, also capable of tempting the twin to its death. Impressions of these same decorations may be carved into the wrists and ankles. Palm-nut waist beads offer guard against disease. Likewise, an Islamic amulet tirah is often carved, though sometimes worn, to protect the ibeji from illness and adversity (Houlberg, 23). When necessary, lead or silver nails may be driven into the face to protect the carved eyes from severe wear due to handling. Likewise, metal brackets and nails can be used to preserve deteriorating features of the ere ibeji whose wood may have split or broken (Stoll, 105).
With time, new materials and conventions become more incorporated into the cult of the ere ibeji. Just as traded glass beads entered the tradition of adornment in Africa during the seventeenth century, so too are new pigments. Non-traditional camwood substitutes such as chalks, powders, synthetics or acrylics have been seen on ibeji handled in the customary methods along with as well as indigo. Omolangidi are long-established dolls in Yoruba culture, but can be used as ere ibeji and involved in the same ritual rights. These simplified forms with naturalistic heads can be easier to care for than traditional carving in some cases. Manufactured plastic dolls are readily available in Yorubaland, often made in Nigeria. This variation is not as shocking considering that traditional omolangidi are also replacing ere ibeji (Houlberg, 26-27).
The least conventional substitute for ere ibeji is the photograph, becoming especially prevalent among Christian and Muslim parents (Houlberg, 26-27). The extent to which photographs are ritually treated is not readily known, though photographs are a celebration of twindom that extends beyond the Yoruba. Double portraits can commemorate many different relationships, but the similarity between these and actual twin pictures or photo ibeji is considerable- possibly making it too difficult to distinguish. One marker of photo ibeji is the use of identical reproduction on the same photograph due to the deceased twin. This can be achieved with a double exposure on film, the use of a mirror, or a duplicated print of a single twin. These photos can also be commissioned to mark an important event such as a birthday, success or an anniversary in which it would be shameful not to recognize the deceased (Micheli, 66-82).
Use of these non-traditional substitutes may happen for a number of reasons. Most prevalent is the exception sought by Muslim or Christian Yoruba that bypasses the babalawo, who would ascribe the full ritual observation of the traditional ere ibeji. This allows the family of the deceased twin to practice the unorthodox habit s of the surrounding area. The price of commission or ease of access to a substitute figure versus the traditionally carved statue may also influence the family. It is undisputed, however, that there is ritual and religious significance to these substitutes (Houlberg, 26-27).
Works Cited
-Stoll, Mareidi and Gert. Twin Figures of the Yoruba. Gert and Mereidi Stoll: Germany , 1980. pp 24-334.
-Micheli, Angelo C. Doubles and Twins: A New Approach to Contemporary Studio Photography in West Africa. African Arts, Spring 2008. pp 66-85.
-Houlberg, Marilyn Hammersley. Ibeji Images of the Yoruba. African Arts, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Autumn, 1973), pp. 20-92.
-Pemberton, John III. African Beaded Art: Power and Adornment. Smith College Museum of Art: Northhampton, MA, 2008. pp 3-105.
- African Shapes of the Sacred: Yoruba Religious Art in the Lonyear Museum of Anthropology. Colgate University: Hamilton, NY, 2006. pp 3-28.
- Thompson, Robert Farris. Sons of Thunder: Twin Images among the Oyo and Other Yoruba Groups. African Arts, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring, 1971), pp. 8-80.
- Chemeche/Fakaye
Virtual Botanic Garden; http://www.virboga.de/Baphia_nitida.htm
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