Male twin figure "ere ibeji" · Nigeria, Yoruba, Igbomina, Ila Orangun · ID: 3041191
Poul Mørk (1938 – 2013), Copenhagen, Denmark. Curator of the African Collections Departement at the National Museum of Denmark
Description
wood, softly luminous brown patina, small remains of indigo blue pigment, four strings of glassbeads, long and narrow head with grooved high towering coiffure, facial features rubbed off, the body strongly encrusted with paste from redwood/ palmoil, on breast and back carved with islamic triangle “tirah”, dam., missing parts (base), cracks, small traces of insect caused damage (upper lip);
particularly sympathetic “ibeji” type, from the “master of the smiling face”.
The “ibeji”, the depository of the soul, is treated with the loving care as the surviving twin. The figure is handsomely dressed and decorated with chains and rings, washed and anointed (with a mixture of finely ground redwood and palm oil) at least once a week (normally on fridays), and when the mother takes the twin to her breast, the “ibeji” gets his portion too.
Comparing literature
Polo, Fausto, Enzyklopädie der Ibeji, 2008, ill. 548