Omu Aran, Igbomina, Yoruba - Nigeria

Wood with wear patina - Heights 29 cm and 28 cm - Late 19th, early 20th century.

In the language of the Yoruba people, IBEJI means twin: IBI = born and EJI = two.

This pair of ibeji, made on the advice of a diviner, was used in the context of the cult of twins and was intended to honor the spirit of deceased twins (triplets...) to whom the survivor(s) were closely linked. These statuettes have undergone a great deal of care and ritual, giving them a deep patina of use.

The IBEJI does not represent a child, as one might expect, but an adult, with the face and naked body of an adult. It is the sculptor who decides on the artistic form he will give to the statuette.