Yoruba Ibeji Pair

The Yoruba have one of the highest rates of twin births in the world, and ibeji figures emerged as a way for families to honor twins who had died in infancy or early childhood. When a twin passed, the parents commissioned a carved figure to stand in for the child, and that figure was then cared for as if still living, dressed, fed, washed, and spoken to over many years. A pair of ibeji represents both twins together and was central to the household's ongoing relationship with them. The inclusion of beads here follows the tradition of adorning the figures with the same attention given to a living child.