Yoruba twins’ carvings: Change and continuity

TRADITION In the African context is not different from other parts of the world as it relates to  the customs of a people in every society. Different societies have different value systems. The Yoruba, for example, value an orderly, systematic approach in all facets of life whether in the area of childbirth, marriage, eating habits, respects and so on and so forth. Therefore, it is this value system that gave birth to the carving of the twin figures (ere ibeji ) in the Yoruba socio-cultural system. There are two versions of the origin of the Yoruba. The first version claims descent from Oduduwa, who created the world, the beginning of which was Ile-Ife. The version says the Yoruba came from the ancient kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Oduduwa, having been driven from Mecca for worshipping idols, come to settle where they are today. The Ooni is their spiritual head. Secondly, it shows that the Yoruba today consist of migrants and indigenous peoples whose fusion over the years has produced the mystery of those wooden sculpture, ere ibeji. In earlier times, new-born twins were believed to be evil and monstrous. Infanticide was a common practice. The rate of twin births among the Yoruba of Nigeria and the Benin republic is one of the highest in the world (45 of every 1,000 births) and there is also high mortality rate. In Yoruba cosmogony, twins are considered to be spiritual beings.

Sometimes, these set of babies could be two male children or two female children while in some cases they could be of mixed sex, that is, male and female. The baby that comes out first from the mother’s womb is called Taiwo (meaning go and taste the nature of life) while the second baby is called Kehinde (last born) who is regarded as the elder of the two because “Kehinde” sent “Taiwo” an errand to go and visualize the earth. The columbus monkey in her species usually gives birth to twins day in day out, so her birth is associated to twins among the Yoruba. So, twins must not eat the columbus monkey (edun) as bush meat (an abomination) and corn (agbado) is forbidden from infancy to adulthood as the columbus monkey equally feeds on corn, and its sex organ looks human.  Oriki ibeji (cognomen ) includes ejire okin (beautiful twin, like Ostrich, Ejire nba bi nba yo yo yo (if i give birth to twins I will dance joyfully), edun jobi (of the lineage of columbus monkey), ejire okin ara isokun (beautiful twin, a descendent of Isokun), ejire so alakiisa di alaso ( ejire makes the poor to be rich), ejire so alagbe di olounje (ejire turns the begger to a giver) and ejire so otosi di oloro (ejire turns wretched person to a wealthy person). In terms of nutrition/diet, Ibeji have special traditional diets like beans, bean cake, ekuru, eko, moin-moin, aadun, two fat fowls (adie meji), two snails (igbin meji), eku meji (two bush rats) and eja abori gbigbe meji (two dry catfish) etc. Because of the strange nature of their birth, ibeji commands and are accorded great respect. By the 19th century, the cult or ere Ibeji  was firmly established, and continues to this day because of the high mortality rate.

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Between 17th century and the earliest part of the 18th century, twin babies were considered an abomination in Yorubaland and many parts of the East and notably Calabar. Mothers of twin babies were banished and the babies were thrown into the bush. But between 1848-1861, Mary Slessor, a Christian missionary, taught the people that there was nothing abnormal in having twin babies. The Yoruba believe that it is the deity of the twin babies that protects and nurtures them after birth. However, if one of the two babies dies, the mother will carve a wooden statue, ere, representing the sex of the deceased twin. This wooden statue will be put in a corner of the house and red oil (palm oil) will be administered on its head periodically in order to appease the dead, thereby preventing the surviving child from dying. Another good reason for the ritual treatment for ere ibeji is that it is hoped that if it is well treated, the spirit will return to earth. Ere Ibejis are carved in all parts of Yorubaland. They continue to be made by artists who serve the communities around them. These treasured pieces are still most sought after by collectors and museums today.

However, from the 20th century and beyond, new forms began to be used to fulfill the need of ibeji and reflect the changes that take place in every culture overtime. Some contemporary ere ibejis are carved by the same artists who carve traditional ibeji figures. But smaller oneshave been created on request by individuals for whom mobility is of great concern. The wooden images are washed, dressed and fed every four days i.e during market days, and parents may dance around in the market places asking for alms as may be dictated by the oracle, Ifa, after due consultation on the spiritual nature of their births because more often than not twins are believed to bring good fortune to their parents. This accounts for the carved images that became the focus of ritual sacrifice. Furthermore, Biblical reference on the birth of twins and modern medicine believe that the birth of twins as a result of fertilisation of two or more eggs after the woman ovulates as the case may be. In another dimension, other contemporary developments arose which do not utilize the community artists who carve traditional ere ibeji plastic dolls available in the local market places, possibly because of the higher cost of commissioning a sculpture. But if the same treatment is administered to these improvised plastic twin-doll figures, they fulfill the same purpose.

There is no civilisation without an artistic tradition: the Nok culture , Ife culture and Benin kingdom are known to historians mainly because of the objects found in those areas. The objects found in Nigeria are without doubt the most important figures in Africa. The Yoruba do not believe only in the reproduction of life through children, but also the widening activity of the individual in relation to his increased experience and the extension of the limits of consciousness. This in essence means that the Yoruba have an innate ability to carve ere ibeji, which provides an excellent record of Yoruba carvers and carving styles. The consciousness of every creative and innate ability of a man will give total fulfilment when adequately put into use. The Yoruba consider that every artistic creation is very important, and to be valued and protected because it is the cultural patrimony and heritage of the people. Furthermore, sculptural works of art among the Yoruba are seen to conform to nature functionally and not an autonomous art that is created for pleasure (art for art sake). Hence it suffices to say that art has moved its focus from cult or religious concepts among the Yoruba in Oyo town to representation and aesthetics in both forms and values as seen in the plastic art that is now the order of the day.

• Ogungbile writes in from the National Museum, Oyo, Oyo State.