Ere ibeji figure

Museum number:
5-15803
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21050015803
Alternate number:
1359 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.4661
Description:
Figure, twin (Ibeji), wood, handcarved; male; pronounced headdress, stylized face; hands on hips; mounted on nearly square pedestal; dark, polished finish; cross-hatched scarification on cheeks.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Collection place:
Abeokuta, Nigeria
Verbatim coll. place:
West Africa; Nigeria; Yoruba; Abeokuta
Culture or time period:
Yoruba
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
1976
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Carvings (visual works) and Ere ibeji
Function:
5.3 Objects relating to the Secular and Quasi-religious Rites, Pageants, and Drama
Accession date:
December 12, 1994
Context of use:
The incidence of twin births among the Yoruba is exceptionally high; so too is the infant mortality rate. Upon the death of one or both of the twins, ibeji, small wood surrogates are carved, since twins are looked upon as powerful spirits. The carvings, ere ibeji, must be washed, fed, clothed, and generally tended as though they were living twins, and for as long a period as divination may prescribe. When twins are born to a woman of royal lineage, they must qualify, in the event of their death, for special beaded garments, ordered from the crown-maker. May either be individual dresses or double ones, incorporating both the ere ibeji in a single wide garment with two neck holes. Similar garments covered with cowrie shells symbolize the wealth which twins can bring to those who acknowledge their power. (Fagg & Pemberton: p. 199). Collector's note: "Beads probably indicates Shango worshipper.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
width 8.7 centimeters and height 23 centimeters
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 6 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-15803, described as Figure, twin (Ibeji), wood, handcarved; male; pronounced headdress, stylized face; hands on hips; mounted on nearly square pedestal; dark, polished finish; cross-hatched scarification on cheeks.Hearst Museum object 2 of 6 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-15803, described as Figure, twin (Ibeji), wood, handcarved; male; pronounced headdress, stylized face; hands on hips; mounted on nearly square pedestal; dark, polished finish; cross-hatched scarification on cheeks.Hearst Museum object 3 of 6 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-15803, described as Figure, twin (Ibeji), wood, handcarved; male; pronounced headdress, stylized face; hands on hips; mounted on nearly square pedestal; dark, polished finish; cross-hatched scarification on cheeks.Hearst Museum object 4 of 6 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-15803, described as Figure, twin (Ibeji), wood, handcarved; male; pronounced headdress, stylized face; hands on hips; mounted on nearly square pedestal; dark, polished finish; cross-hatched scarification on cheeks.Hearst Museum object 5 of 6 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-15803, described as Figure, twin (Ibeji), wood, handcarved; male; pronounced headdress, stylized face; hands on hips; mounted on nearly square pedestal; dark, polished finish; cross-hatched scarification on cheeks.Hearst Museum object 6 of 6 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-15803, described as Figure, twin (Ibeji), wood, handcarved; male; pronounced headdress, stylized face; hands on hips; mounted on nearly square pedestal; dark, polished finish; cross-hatched scarification on cheeks.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-15803, described as Figure, twin (Ibeji), wood, handcarved; male; pronounced headdress, stylized face; hands on hips; mounted on nearly square pedestal; dark, polished finish; cross-hatched scarification on cheeks.

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