The killing of twins was a cultural practice among some ethnic groups in Nigeria, predominantly among the Efik people. [1] [2] Giving birth to twins was considered a bad omen that could bring devastation or calamity upon society. [3] Twin babies were believed not to be humans, [2] and were seen as evil. [4] In some remote areas, killing of twins is believed to be a myth. [5] In the 21st century, it is believed that killing of twins as a sacrifice still exists among those living in Nigeria's federal capital territory. [3] [5]
The birth of twins was seen as an evil curse among the Efik people. Natives feared that the father of one of the babies was an evil spirit and that the mother was guilty of a grievous sin. As a result, the Efik often abandoned the twin babies in the bush. [6] It was considered a taboo to have twins. They were perceived as unlucky and mini gods, and it is believed that evil has befallen the community or family where they were born. [7]
Unlike the Efik, the Yoruba people saw twins to be of great importance. In the Yoruba language, twins are called "Ibeji" [8] The Yoruba also believed that twins had supernatural powers that could increase their parents’ wealth and therefore treat them with honor. When one or both of the twins died, an Ibeji statue would be carved out in their memory. The parents would treat these statues as if they were living children by singing to them as well as feeding and caring for them. [9] Parents that failed to take care of the Ibeji statues would suffer consequences such as poverty and illness. [8] Even though Yoruba people eventually saw twins as of great importance there was still evidence of twin infanticide in various Yoruba communities. According to T. J. H. Chappel, the acceptance of twins across Yoruba land is likely more of a recent phenomenon.
"Most recent investigators have indicated that the Yoruba-speaking peoples of west Africa welcome twin-births and have a traditional reverence for twins to the extent that a cult is made of them. It is true that, nowadays, twin-births are generally accepted as a social fact throughout most of Yorubaland and twins treated, to some extent, as super-human beings. A number of earlier accounts, however, indicate that the contemporary cult of twins represents a reversal of the former practice of twin infanticide. The following references show that twins, and in some cases the mother as well, were destroyed throughout most of Yorubaland in former times and that until quite recently, at least in some parts, twin-births continued to be unwelcome."
This practice was done in the South South, South Western and South Eastern parts of Nigeria. [11] [12] In the southeast, it was considered a taboo to give birth to twins. [13] Mothers who gave birth to twins then were thought to have had intercourse with the devil's spirit resulting in the birth of something unusual or unnatural. Twins were killed or abandoned in the bush and the mothers were shunned by their husbands. The killing of newborn twins was a popular practice among the Ibibio people of Nigeria in the 19th century. [14]
In 1876, Mary Slessor, a Scottish missionary was assigned to Efik Land in Calabar Nigeria. She was 28 years. [15] She had a genuine interest in the rights and well-being of women and children. Gradually, she worked towards changing the cultural belief that twins were evil. While Mary enlightened and educated the people, she also preached the gospel of Christ. She shared a deeper bond with the people and learned their local dialect, the Efik language, and ate their locally made food. At some point, Mary started dressing like the other local women residing in the area. [7] Without giving up her faith, she practically adopted some of the people's ways of living. However, speaking against twin killing was not a day's work as it took constant sensitization and education of those who practiced this custom. Mary was so passionate about reversing the obsolete custom that she started adopting any abandoned baby that was left to die and took care of them at the Mission House. Within a short time, she adopted eight children who became like a family to her as she continued her missionary work in more remote areas. She later succeeded in having a few converts who eventually became Christians. [16] Mary's impact was immeasurable and in 1892, she was appointed the vice-consul of the Okoyong territory by the British Consul-general, Major Claude MacDonald.
By 1915, twins and mothers of twins were assumed to be fully integrated into their communities. Since then, little outside attention has been given to cruelty to twins and their mothers. Rumors of recent abuse prompted a survey to be carried out from January to June 1991 among the Efik, Ibibio, and Annang peoples to determine their attitude toward twins and their mothers. The majority of the women surveyed stated that they would be happy to have twins. On the other hand, 8.9% of surveyed women considered twins taboo. [13]
Efik mythology consists of a collection of myths narrated, sung or written down by the Efik people and passed down from generation to generation. Sources of Efik mythology include bardic poetry, art, songs, oral tradition and proverbs. Stories concerning Efik myths include creation myths, supernatural beings, mythical creatures, and warriors. Efik myths were initially told by Efik people and narrated under the moonlight. Myths, legends and historical stories are known in Efik as Mbụk while moonlight plays in Efik are known as Mbre Ọffiọñ.
Olokun is an orisha spirit in Yoruba religion. Olokun is believed to be the parent of Aje, the orisha of great wealth and of the bottom of the ocean. Olokun is revered as the ruler of all bodies of water and for the authority over other water deities. Olokun is highly praised for their ability to give great wealth, health, and prosperity to their followers. Communities in both West Africa and the African diaspora view Olokun variously as female, male, or androgynous.
The Anaang are an ethnic group in southern Nigeria, whose land is primarily within 8 of the present 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom State: Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam, Ukanafun in Akwa Ibom State. The Anaang are the second largest ethnic group in Akwa Ibom state.
Twins appear in the mythologies of many cultures around the world. In some cultures they are seen as ominous, and in others they are seen as auspicious. Twins in mythology are often cast as two halves of the same whole, sharing a bond deeper than that of ordinary siblings, or seen as fierce rivals. They can be seen as representations of a dualistic worldview. They can represent another aspect of the self, a doppelgänger, or a shadow. However, twins can also reflect a complete opposition of the other, such as the "civilized" Gilgamesh, and the "wild" Enkidu; or in the commonly known instance of good and evil twin identities.
Mary Mitchell Slessor was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary to Nigeria. Once in Nigeria, Slessor learned Efik, one of the numerous local languages, then began teaching. Because of her understanding of the native language and her bold personality Slessor gained the trust and acceptance of the locals and was able to spread Christianity while promoting women's rights and protecting native children. She is most famous for her role in helping to stop the common practice of infanticide of twins in Okoyong, an area of Cross River State, Nigeria.
Calabar is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and creeks of the Cross River.
The culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigeria's multiple ethnic groups. The country has 527 languages, seven of which are extinct. Nigeria also has over 1150 dialects and ethnic groups. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausas that are predominantly in the north, the Yorubas who predominate in the southwest, and the Igbos in the southeast. There are many other ethnic groups with sizeable populations across the different parts of the country. The Kanuri people are located in the northeast part of Nigeria, the Tiv people of north central and the Efik-Ibibio are in the south south. The Bini people are most frequent in the region between Yorubaland and Igboland.
Kaiso is a type of music popular in Trinidad and Tobago, and other countries, especially of the Caribbean, such as Grenada, Belize, Barbados, St. Lucia and Dominica, which originated in West Africa particularly among the Efik and Ibibio people of Nigeria, and later evolved into calypso music.
The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the Benue–Congo subfamily of the Niger-Congo language group. The Efik refer to themselves as Efik Eburutu, Ifa Ibom, Eburutu and Iboku.
Ibeji is the name of an Orisha representing a pair of twins in the Yoruba religion of the Yoruba people. In the diasporic Yoruba spirituality of Latin America, Ibeji are syncretized with Saints Cosmas and Damian. In Yoruba culture and spirituality, twins are believed to be magical, and are granted protection by the Orisha Shango. If one twin should die, it represents bad fortune for the parents and the society to which they belong. The parents therefore commission a babalawo to carve a wooden Ibeji to represent the deceased twin, and the parents take care of the figure as if it were a real person. Other than the sex, the appearance of the Ibeji is determined by the sculptor. The parents then dress and decorate the ibeji to represent their own status, using clothing made from cowrie shells, as well as beads, coins and paint.
The Oṣun River, Yoruba: Odò Ọ̀ṣun, is a river of Yorubaland that rises in Ekiti State and flows westwards into Osun State before turning southwestwards at its confluence with the Erinle River near the town of Ede and then heading south at the Asejire reservoir flowing though the rest of the state and Ogun State in Southwestern Nigeria before eventually discharging into the Lekki Lagoon and the Atlantic at the Gulf of Guinea.
The documented history begins when Oranyan came to rule the Oyo Empire, which became dominant in the early 17th century. The older traditions of the formerly dominant Ile-Ife kingdom are largely oral.
A Yorùbá name is a name that is part of a naming tradition that is primarily used by the Yoruba people and Yoruba language–speaking individuals in Benin, Togo, and Nigeria.
The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group who mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by the Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 48 million people in Africa, are over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 20.7% of the country's population according to Ethnologue estimations, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers.
Distinctive cultural norms prevail in Yorubaland and among the Yoruba people.
The Ondo Kingdom is a traditional state that traces its origins back for over 500 years, with its capital in Ode Ondo. Ondo Kingdom was established by Princess Pupupu, one the twins of Alafin Oluaso. Her mother was Queen Olu who later died at Ile oluji. The princess gave birth to twins in the era where twins were considered an abomination. They called them Ese Omo. One of the twins died at Epe near Ondo. There were wars in the town between 1865 and 1885 when people in the kingdom fled to Oke Opa. Three Osemawes were installed and died there. Before then the kingdom was ruled by the son of Pupupu called Airo. Airo went to Benin under the pupilage of his uncle Oba Eiseghie 1516 to train in the art of governance.
An Epa mask is a ceremonial mask worn by the Yoruba people of Nigeria during the Epa masquerade. Carvings representing priests, hunters, farmers, kings, and mothers are usually depicted on the masks. They are used to acknowledge important roles within the community, and to honor those who perform the roles, as well as ancestors who performed those roles in the past.
Healing of Abiku Children is a piece created by the Nigerian artist Twins Seven-Seven in 1973, located in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America. It consists of a large wooden plaque intricately carved and dyed with pigment to depict an important Yoruba ceremony. In it, a mother consults with a priest to keep her abiku twins in this world, rather than dying and being reborn to her over and over.
"El Hadj" Tidiani Shitou (1933–2000) was a Nigerian photographer best known for his pioneering photographs of Yoruba celebrations and his portraits of doubles in Nigeria.
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