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Pair of woodcarvings, Ibeji figures. One male and one female.
The Yoruba people of Nigeria believe that twins are 2 bodies sharing the same soul. If one twin dies, there is a danger that s/he will call the surviving twin to join him or her. So a carving is made representing the dead twin, and placed on a shrine.
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk
