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African & Tribal Art :
Yoruba Ibeji Dolls : Yoruba Wooden Ibeji Doll with Cowrie Shell Cloak
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Yoruba Wooden Ibeji Doll with Cowrie Shell Cloak - PF.5731
Origin: Nigeria
Circa: 20
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
10.375" (26.4cm) high
x 3.5" (8.9cm) wide
Collection: African
Medium: Wood and Beads
$3,700.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Twinning as a biological phenomenon is
exceptionally common among the Yoruba.
Parents of twins greet their birth as both a
blessing and a burden. Twins double everything.
They are twice as much trouble, but bring twice
as much good fortune to those parents who give
them proper care. Twins were thought to exist in
three different worlds at the same time - the
"Bush," the Spirit World and the world of human
beings.
In order to insure direct contact with the spirit of
dead twins, which were believed to play an active
role in the lives of their family, a mother
commissions the carving of an Ibeji after a twin
has died. Twin figures are treated in much the
same manner as living children. They are
regularly "fed" beans and red palm oil, foods
sacred to the god Ibeji, and are washed in a bath
of special herbs. They are kept on a household
altar, covered with a special cloth, where
sacrifices of food and other items are regularly
offered.
The Yoruba are the only people in West Africa
who carve wooden images to commemorate
twins. Ibeji figures are traditionally carved with
bent knees and elongated arms held to the side,
and the face is given a serene effect of
"coolness,” called otuto. This sculpture bears
the marks of ritual scarifications along her
cheeks and pubic region. Beaded jewelry has
been added around her neck, waist, and right
ankle. Perhaps the most interesting feature is
her missing left nipple. Often when ritual objects
were discarded or traded, a little piece would be
broken off to disable the statue’s spiritual
powers. More than a memorial or a work of art,
this Ibeji statue has the ability to influence and
affect out daily lives.
- (PF.5731)
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