The Divine Twins in the Yoruba Pantheon

I had some very powerful dreams about my ancestors, family, the Ibeyji and Shango this morning. So I've been seeing black twins everywhere and had a dream about the Ibeji this morning so I think I will give candy to the Ibeji tomorrow. The Ibeji are the divine twins, the children of Shango.

In Catholicism, they were syncretized with Saints Cosmos and Damian, twin doctors. My Italian great-grandmother had a special devotion for Saints Cosmos and Damian, she had this beautiful statue of them on her dresser. My grandfather and my great aunt (her children) also had a devotion for them. My great aunt Lucia gave me a wallet card for Saints Cosmos and Damian many years ago which I keep on my Ancestor altar.

My mae de santo told me there are 3 paths of Ibeji in Candomble. The children of Shango and Oshun are a boy and girl.The children of Shango and Oya are two boys and the third path no one knows who the mother is but Iemanja raised them and it is a boy and a girl. The colors of the Ibeji in Candomble are pink and blue or green and yellow depending on the path.

Usually in both Lucumi and Candomble, the feast of the Ibeji is a party for kids with lots of candy and toys that are given to the kids. The feast of the Ibeji is usually celebrated on the Catholic feast day of Cosmos and Damian which is September 27th.

It is said that the Yoruba have the highest birth rates of twins in the world. A Yoruba child born after twins is called Idowu which means "child born after twins". I have a Yoruba friend with that name.

When twins die among the Yoruba, wooden sculptures are made of them and venerated by the family.

In Vodoun, the Divine Twins are known as the Marasa and also have male and female aspects. The males are syncretized with Cosmos and Damien. The female Marasa are syncretized with the three Virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity.

As a son of Logunede, I've always had a connection to the Ibeji. After all the Ibeji are Logunede's brothers/sisters via Oshun. The Ibeji also have connections with Oshun, Oya, Yemaya and of course their father Shango.

An Umbanda (Brazilian Spiritism) legend that has roots in an older Yoruba tale tells how the Ibeji defeat Eshu once. In the original Yoruba version, the Ibeji trick an spirit into defeat. In the Umbanda version it tells who the twins defeated Eshu and explains the origin of the exu and pombagira line of spirits.

At the dawn of time, Eshu challenged the rule of the other orisha and rebelled against them. He began to populate the earth with many monsters and other horrors.The other orishas could not defeat him. Oxala (Obatala) divided himself into two aspects Oxaguian, the young warrior and Oxalufon, the old king in order that he may fight Exu with his two avatars. The Ibeji also fought Exu as well. One twin would fight him for 12 hours and the other for another 12 giving each rest. With the combined strength of Oxala and the twins, Exu was defeated. Exu swore that his children, the spirits known as exus or pombagiras would serve the orixas. This is why each male orixa has an exu and each female orixa has a pombagira as its messenger. The exus are not the orixa Exu but a class of very powerful dead folk who have passed on but have a connection to Exu. For example Exu Tata Caveira was an Egyptian prince in Roman times who became the Lord of the Cemetery. He has links to Babaluaye. With the Pombagiras, the were often the spirits of prostitutes, princesses, or queens who after death became linked to Pombagira and Exu.
I hope the Divine Twins, the Ibeji bless you and your children with more fun and laughter in your lives. Ashe.