Ere Ibeji Exhibition Materials

Ere Ibeji

 You care for them every day.

You carry them on your back. You feed them kola nuts, beans, palm oil, and bananas. You rub them with ground redwood or camwood and palm oil to keep them smooth and polished. You cover their hair in indigo pigment. You clothe them and give them jewelry made from cowrie shells or beads. You kiss them. You sing to them and pray with them. You care for them as you would your child.

You love them as you loved your child when they were still here.

These Ere Ibeji carved figures are largely prevalent in Yoruba tradition to signify the importance of twins in their community and to pay homage to departed twins. Nigeria has the highest rate of fraternal twin births throughout the world, and twins are considered very powerful as they can exist in the human world, the spirit world, and the natural world; they have the ability to bring happiness, health and prosperity to their family. The Yoruba also acknowledge that this power could have negative consequences. Ere Ibeji figures are made in the event of a death of one or both twins. The figures house the living souls of deceased twins in the community and are loved by their families. Ere means “sacred image”, ibi means “born” and eji means “two”, but the significance of the figures goes beyond what a translation can convey. They are often buried with their loved ones or given to another family member. The care of Ere Ibeji figures is ongoing.

It is important to recognize that these twins are not meant to be viewed as aesthetic pieces of art but rather as embodiments of those who have gone and coping mechanisms for the family that remains behind. These twins are living, breathing people who are cared for first by the artist who created them and later by their parents and their sibling. The children in the Bryn Mawr collection are incomplete - had they remained with their families, they might still have a polished sheen, they would most likely be covered in jewelry and/or simple clothes, and their facial features would have been worn down over time during ritual feeding and by loving caresses. 

We don’t know anything about the figures we have. We know that they are Ere Ibeji and we know a little about what Ere Ibeji are, but we do not know who these twins were. We do not know when or where they lived, who carved their figures, or even what their names were. We don’t know who cared for them or why they were given away.

 

ON PLAQUE (or, if not possible, at the end of the wall text) [emphasised, in all-caps]: Do you want to look? Should you look? If yes, move the curtain aside - the Ere Ibeji are there.

 

INSIDE THE CASE (or, if not possible, after “the care of Ere Ibeji figures is ongoing” and before “It is important to recognize....”):

"I look at them - all these charming statuettes, standing tall and erect, gleaming under the spotlights. I look at these memorial figures, removed from their native land, cut off from their community’s love, deprived of their cultic rites, reduced to mere objects of desire. Here they stand, isolated and detached. Their presence is defined by their past, presenting a living testimony, a visual chronology of all the ritual attention and the frequent affection bestowed upon them from one to the next generation.

I look at them, but they do not gaze at me. They seem to stare far beyond me, far into infinity, to the above, yearning for the deceased souls to return home."

Chemeche, An Art Times Does Not Forget - Reflection on Yoruba Twin Figures by a Western Artist

 

The Graveyard text:

 

Title: Ere Ibeji (Single)

Maker:

Culture Group, Countries: Yorubaland (Nigeria & Benin)

Materials: Carved & incised wood with glass

Date:

Accession Number: 99.3.96

Donor: Mace & Helen Katz Neufeld '53

 

Title: Ere Ibeji (Pair)

Maker:

Culture Group, Countries: Yorubaland (Nigeria & Benin)

Materials: Carved & incised wood with pigment

Date:

Accession Number: 99.3.1 + 99.3.8

Donor: Mace & Helen Katz Neufeld '53

 

Title: Ere Ibeji (Pair)

Maker:

Culture Group, Countries: Yorubaland (Nigeria & Benin)

Materials: Carved & incised wood with pigment and glass

Date:

Accession Number: 99.3.21 + 99.3.20

Donor: Mace & Helen Katz Neufeld '53

 

Title: Ere Ibeji (Pair)

Maker:

Culture Group, Countries: Yorubaland (Nigeria & Benin)

Materials: Carved & incised wood with pigment

Date:

Accession Number: 99.3.28 + 99.3.29

Donor: Mace & Helen Katz Neufeld '53

 

Title: Ere Ibeji (Pair)

Maker:

Culture Group, Countries: Yorubaland (Nigeria & Benin)

Materials: Carved & incised wood with pigment

Date:

Accession Number: Temp. 65a & 65b

Donor: Jane Martin '53