![]() (circa) or BCE.ġ900–1975 Medium Wood, glass beads, pigment, and string Dimensions H.: 24 cm (9 7/16 in.) Credit Line Gift of Wilbur Tuggle Reference Number 1978. In spite of the resistance, African traditional religions continue to be practiced by a considerable number of Yoruba people in West Africa. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. Status Currently Off View Department Arts of Africa Culture Yoruba Title Twin Commemorative Figure (Ere Ibeji) Place Nigeria (Object made in) Dateĭates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. It stands symmetrically on a square base. There are three ways of dealing with one's enemies according to the Yoruba expression, namely (1) the use of incantation or potent words or ofo,ogede or madarikan in Yoruba words (2) medicine called tira or talisman (3) herbs or lotions. The figure has long arms, which hang vertically from its shoulders, almost reaching the ankles on its comparatively short legs. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa, the Catholic form of Christianity, and Spiritism. The large almond-shaped eyes, naturalistic ears, broad nose, and full lips with a composed or serene expression are typical for ibeji carvings. The figure wears red beads around its neck and has a wedge-shaped head and elaborate coiffure. This ere ibeji represents a male, although its twin figure is female. Once the sculpture is completed, it is taken care of as if it were a child. That this interpretation is wrong and misleading in the consequences it produces is argued here. ![]() Although the sculptures represent a deceased infant, they are carved with the features of an adult. Staying strictly within Yoruba religion, these writers present Olodumare as Christian God, Muslim Allah, and Esu as Satan or Devil. The sculptor has almost complete aesthetic control over the final features and form of the work. The death of a twin will often prompt the parents to consult an Ifa divination priest and commission a sculptor to carve an ere ibeji. Scholars are uncertain what event may have motivated such a reversal from the perception of twins as evil or terrifying to their reception as kings and gods, or orisa. The cult of twins is the result of a radical transformation in attitudes relating to twin births sometime around the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Throughout the Yoruba area that used to belong to the Oyo Empire, twins are called emi alagbara (powerful spirits), carriers of riches to their parents and misfortune for those who fail to honor them. The Yoruba have one of the highest rates of twin births in the world, but with this comes the increased frequency of infant mortality.
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