Orisa Ibeji: The sacred twins.

Ibeji are the orisa of twinship and doubling. Since having children is a great blessing in Ifa – to have two is doubly good! Twins are born with powerful ase that predisposes them to being powerful priests and magicians.

 Indeed, the ase of a twin birth is so strong that the child born after the twins is thought to be able to profit from the residual ase still in the mother’s womb and is thus also born into the world with increased power potential. The Ibeji have the ability to double your blessings and your misgivings.

However, when served properly they bring with them enormous wealth and good fortune. If at any point a twin dies (or is born still-born) a set of Ibeji dolls must be made for those twins. That twin doll is treated as if it were the living twin! It’s fed, put to bed, and even taken out for walks. The care of the twin doll either falls to the living twin, the twin’s mother, or to the family. While individual Ibeji dolls should be made for deceased twins the full Orisa complex known as Ibeji can also be composed for would-be devotees. When served properly the Ibeji bring with them blessings and protections that are hard to match.