Ibeji
Ibeji are the sacred twins of Yoruba tradition: twins are believed to be sacred and are granted protection by Shango, and the Yoruba country has one of the highest rates of twin births in the world.
The orishas are not a Western pantheon: Yoruba and Ifa tradition assigns them no planets, no zodiac signs and no Wiccan sabbats, and reckons time by the four-day traditional week. The planetary (Mercury), zodiacal (Gemini, Cancer), tarot (the Lovers, Two of Cups, the Sun) and sabbat values in this entry are modern Western overlays, and the sabbat list is empty. Ibeji are not one deity but the sacred twins themselves and their cult; the parentage stories vary, and the claim that they are Shango's children (or Oshun's) is not uniform, so the entry does not fix it. The 'twin flame' use of Ibeji is a modern Western borrowing and is not the tradition, and the British Museum's large collection of ere ibeji is a colonial acquisition, not a neutral archive. The weekday value is diaspora practice. The joy of the twins is the tradition's, not a 'divine child archetype'.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Mercury
Offerings
- Offerings
- Cooked beansCornHoneyToysCare for twinsThe ere ibeji fed and dressed
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- IbeyiJimaguasTaiwo and Kehinde
- Gender Expression
- Twin pair
- Titles
- The Sacred TwinsTaiwo and KehindeThe Two Who Came TogetherThe Pair Who Must Be Greeted
- Symbols
- TwinsEre ibejiCowrie shellsTwo kola nutsThe double gourd
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneWarm and playfulAddressIbejiTaiwoKehindeThe TwinsRelationshipThe two who arrive together and must be greeted togetherWarningDo not honour one and ignore the otherResonanceParents of twins children those who keep a pair
- Modern Practice
Ibeji are served with beans, corn, honey, toys and the dressing of the ere ibeji, and the parents of twins keep the figures and the feast. In Cuba the Ibeyi are received and greeted as a pair, and the tradition's rule is that neither is honoured alone. The joy and the play are the practice, not a metaphor.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- TwinsChildrenJoyProtection of childrenThe doublingThe first and second bornThe ere ibejiFortune
- Mythology Summary
Ibeji are the sacred twins of Yoruba tradition: twins are believed to be sacred and are granted protection by Shango, and the Yoruba country has one of the highest rates of twin births in the world. Taiwo is born first, but Kehinde sends him to test whether the world is fit before he follows, so Kehinde is reckoned the elder. If a twin dies, the parents have an ere ibeji carved and care for it as the living child, dressing and feeding it. In the diaspora they are syncretised with Saints Cosmas and Damian.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsRedWhiteBlueScentsBenzoinCopal whiteRoseMetalsCopperBrassAnimalsParrotMonkeyDove
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