Pair of twin figures "ere ibeji" ·  Nigeria, Yoruba, Igbomina, Esie · ID: 3033165

Description

wood, brown patina, indigo blue and black paint at the coiffure, each wearing two strings of glass beads around the neck, encrusted with clay, scarification marks on face and belly, concentrical grooves on the back, pear-shaped faces with towering coiffures, triangular eyes with bulging pupils, slightl dam., cracks;
as the Yoruba believe that twins have a combined, inseparable soul, the moment one of the twins dies, the life of the other is immediately imperiled, because the balance of his soul is seriously disturbed. Therefore an artisan is ordered to carve a small wooden figure to serve as new abode for the soul of the deceased. The “babalawo” performs the traditional ritual of transferring the soul into the wooden figure. They are called “ere ibeji”. The Yoruba word “ibeji” means “twin”, “ere” = “sacred image”.

Comparing literature

Polo, Fausto, Enzyklopädie der Ibeji, o. J. 2008, ill. 590