Female Twin Memorial Figure (Ere Ibeji)

Place CreatedOdo Owa, Ekiti, Nigeria, Africa

CultureYoruba

Datelate 19th-early 20th Century

MediumWood, beads

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions12 5/8 x 3 1/8 x 4 in. (32 x 8 x 10.2 cm)

Object number1994.004.794

Label TextThe Yoruba people of Nigeria believe that twins are semi-divine and possess special powers. If a twin dies, the parents consult a diviner who may decide that an ere ibeji should be carved as a substitute for the deceased child, though nowadays dual-image photographs often replace carvings.

These twin effigies are placed on a family altar, and are bathed, fed, taken to the market place, dressed, played with, just as a living child would be. These actions are intended to please the soul of the deceased twin so that he or she will bring good fortune to the family. Though associated with individual deceased children, ere ibeji are not portraits and ibeji are shown as physically mature adults in the hopes that the child's spirit will return in another life and grow to adulthood. The ibeji is carved and adorned specifically to insure the longevity of the reborn spirit's next life on earth.

One of the most important adornments of some ibeji, the triangular pendants on the chest and back represent leather amulets (tirah) that hold quotations from the Islamic holy book, the Koran. Tirah are thought to protect the figure from ill fate, whether the family owning the ibeji is a follower of Islam or not.
Exhibition HistoryAfrican Artistry: Technique and Aesthetics in Yoruba Sculpture, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, April 17 - May 25, 1980
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, May 11, 1993 - July 1994
Art of Nigeria from the William S. Arnett Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, October 15, 1994 - January 2, 1995
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 1, December 15, 1995 - February 1997
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 2, February 1997 - July 1998
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, July 19, 2003 - March 13, 2007
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, November 19, 2007 - December 2010
Divine Intervention: African Art and Religion, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Febuary 5 - December 4, 2011
Paper Moon, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia, August 30 - December 6, 2012
Published ReferencesHenry John Drewal, African Artistry: Technique and Aesthetics in Yoruba Sculpture (Atlanta: The High Museum of Art, 1980), 66, number 112.
MCCM Newsletter, Spring/Summer 2011.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 100.

ProvenanceEx coll. William Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia, from at least 1980.

Status

Not on view

Collections