This is a set of antique hand carved wood Yoruba Ere Ibeji twin figures. The female memorial figure has a small chip to the wood on one ear and the other ear is missing. The word Ibeji means twins. Ibeji are considered sacred children thought to be the bearers of magic power and might among the Yoruba. The Yoruba people of central Nigeria have an amazingly high rate of twin births. Both twins or one of the pair sometimes die prematurely, which is not unusual due to the high child mortality rate in Africa. Sometimes circumstances would call for an Ere Ibeji which is a memorial figure to be carved of the deceased twins or twin. These Ere Ibeji figures are cared for by the mother and they are oiled, dressed, decorated with beads, fed, washed, sung to and otherwise treasured and taken care of. This lavish attention and honoring of the spirit of the departed twin or twins symbolizes the families love for the departed child and also assures a good future free from tragedy for the other family members. This pair of ibeji twin memorial figures I am offering are decorated with beads and have had blue indigo rubbed on their bodies. One figure is a carving of a female twin and the other is a carving of a male twin both are carved as small children having adult attributes. The male figure measures 8.77 inches tall and the female statue measures 8.51 inches tall. I combine shipping on multiple buys so please be sure to check out my ebay store Mountainamma's Marketplace where I have thousands of items to browse. Buyers of multiple items message me before check out for help combining shipping fees or use the request invoice button.