ERE IBEJI FIGURE
Late-19th to early-20th Century
Yoruba Peoples, Nigeria
Wood, pigment, 10 x 4 in.
Museum Purchase
1962.003.001 

Giving birth to twins is more frequent among the Yoruba peoples than among any other peoples of Africa. As infant mortality is high, a cult of twins developed that would ensure healthy babies, or provide for a means to mourn and honor those who had died so they would not bring evil to the household. Ere ibeji figures are made for this purpose, usually in pairs of male and female, and are carried prominantly in a sash worn by a mother. The word ibeji means twin and ere means sacred image.

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