Killing of twins in

Nigeria

The killing of twins was a cultural

practice among some ethnic groups in
Nigeria, predominantly among the Efik
people.[1][2] Giving birth to twins was
considered a bad omen that could bring
devastation or calamity upon society.[3]
Twin babies were believed not to be
humans,[2] and were seen as evil.[4] In
some remote areas, killing of twins is
believed to be a myth.[5] In the 21st
century, it is believed that killing of twins
as a sacrifice still exists among those
living in Nigeria's federal capital
territory.[3][5]

Mary Slessor and four children, Old

Calabar in the late 19th century

Myths and beliefs about

twins

The birth of twins was seen as an evil

curse among the Efik people. Natives
feared that the father of one of the
babies was an evil spirit and that the
mother was guilty of a grievous sin. As a
result, the Efik often abandoned the twin
babies in the bush.[6] It was considered a
taboo to have twins. They were perceived
as unlucky and mini gods, and it is
believed that evil has befallen the
community or family where they were
born.[7]

Unlike the Efik, the Yoruba people saw

twins to be of great importance. In the
Yoruba language, twins are called "Ibeji"[8]
The Yoruba also believed that twins had
supernatural powers that could increase
their parents’ wealth and therefore treat
them with honor. When one or both of the
twins died, an Ibeji statue would be
carved out in their memory. The parents
would treat these statues as if they were
living children by singing to them as well
as feeding and caring for them.[9] Parents
that failed to take care of the Ibeji
statues would suffer consequences such
as poverty and illness.[8] Even though
Yoruba people eventually saw twins as of
great importance there was still evidence
of twin infanticide in various Yoruba
communities. According to T. J. H.
Chappel, the acceptance of twins across
Yoruba land is likely more of a recent
phenomenon.
"Most recent investigators
have indicated that the
Yoruba-speaking peoples of
west Africa welcome twin-
births and have a traditional
reverence for twins to the
extent that a cult is made of
them. It is true that, nowadays,
twin-births are generally
accepted as a social fact
throughout most of
Yorubaland and twins treated,
to some extent, as super-
human beings. A number of
earlier accounts, however,
 indicate that the contemporary
cult of twins represents a
reversal of the former practice
of twin infanticide. The
following references show that
twins, and in some cases the
mother as well, were destroyed
throughout most of
Yorubaland in former times
and that until quite recently, at
least in some parts, twin-births
continued to be unwelcome."

[10]
Places practiced

This practice was done in the South

South, South Western and South Eastern
parts of Nigeria.[11][12] In the southeast, it
was considered a taboo to give birth to
twins.[13] Mothers who gave birth to twins
then were thought to have had
intercourse with the devil's spirit resulting
in the birth of something unusual or
unnatural. Twins were killed or
abandoned in the bush and the mothers
were shunned by their husbands. The
killing of newborn twins was a popular
practice among the Ibibio people of
Nigeria in the 19th century.[14]
Intervention and
eradication

In 1876, Mary Slessor, a Scottish

missionary was assigned to Efik Land in
Calabar Nigeria. She was 28 years.[15]
She had a genuine interest in the rights
and well-being of women and children.
Gradually, she worked towards changing
the cultural belief that twins were evil.
While Mary enlightened and educated the
people, she also preached the gospel of
Christ. She shared a deeper bond with the
people and learned their local dialect, the
Efik language, and ate their locally made
food. At some point, Mary started
dressing like the other local women
residing in the area.[7] Without giving up
her faith, she practically adopted some
of the people's ways of living. However,
speaking against twin killing was not a
day's work as it took constant
sensitization and education of those who
practiced this custom. Mary was so
passionate about reversing the obsolete
custom that she started adopting any
abandoned baby that was left to die and
took care of them at the Mission House.
Within a short time, she adopted eight
children who became like a family to her
as she continued her missionary work in
more remote areas. She later succeeded
in having a few converts who eventually
became Christians.[16] Mary's impact was
immeasurable and in 1892, she was
appointed the vice-consul of the Okoyong
territory by the British Consul-general,
Major Claude MacDonald.

By 1915, twins and mothers of twins

were assumed to be fully integrated into
their communities. Since then, little
outside attention has been given to
cruelty to twins and their mothers.
Rumors of recent abuse prompted a
survey to be carried out from January to
June 1991 among the Efik, Ibibio, and
Annang peoples to determine their
attitude toward twins and their mothers.
The majority of the women surveyed
stated that they would be happy to have
twins. On the other hand, 8.9% of
surveyed women considered twins
taboo.[13]

References

1. Imbua, David Lishilinimle (2013). "Robbing

Others to Pay Mary Slessor: Unearthing
the Authentic Heroes and Heroines of the
Abolition of Twin-Killing in Calabar".
African Economic History. University of
Wisconsin Press. 41: 139–158.
ISSN 0145-2258 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/issn/0145-2258) . JSTOR 43863309 (ht
tps://www.jstor.org/stable/43863309) .
2. Bastian, M. L. (2001). " "The Demon
Superstition": Abominable Twins and
Mission Culture in Onitsha History".
Ethnology. University of Pittsburgh- Of the
Commonwealth System of Higher
Education. 40 (1): 13–27.
doi:10.2307/3773886 (https://doi.org/10.
2307%2F3773886) . ISSN 0014-1828 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/issn/0014-1828) .
JSTOR 3773886 (https://www.jstor.org/st
able/3773886) . PMID 17650568 (https://
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17650568) .

3. Olukoya, Sam (6 November 2013). "Twin

killing in Nigeria" (https://www.rfi.fr/en/afr
ica/20131106-twin-killing-nigeria)
(audio). Radio France Internationale.
Retrieved 6 June 2022.
4. Foundation, Thomson Reuters. "Tackling
the secret killings of twins deemed evil in
Nigeria" (https://news.trust.org/item/2018
0328081807-oj0vs/) . news.trust.org.
Retrieved 14 September 2021. {{cite
web}}: |first= has generic name
(help)

5. Sunday, Orji (19 January 2018). " 'They

ensure each twin baby dies': the secret
killings in central Nigeria" (https://www.th
eguardian.com/working-in-development/2
018/jan/19/twin-baby-dies-secret-killings-
nigeria-remote-communities) . The
Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
6. Ago, Vonchaksin #life • 4 Years (16
September 2017). "Meet the lady who
stopped the killing of twins in Nigeria" (htt
ps://steemit.com/life/@vonchaks/meet-th
e-lady-who-stopped-the-killing-of-twins-in-
nigeria) . Steemit. Retrieved
14 September 2021.

7. Adeleke, Yewande (24 March 2021). "The

Lady Who Stopped The Killing of Twins"
(https://historyofyesterday.com/the-lady-
who-stopped-the-killing-of-twins-13e3d8f
e0ee1) . Medium. Retrieved
14 September 2021.
 8. "Twins in West African Culture and Society
of the Iron Age" (https://artifactsjournal.m
issouri.edu/2014/03/twins-in-west-african
-culture-and-society-of-the-iron-age/) .
Artifacts Journal // University of Missouri.
Retrieved 14 September 2021.

9. "Ibeji Custom in Yorubaland" (https://ww

w.randafricanart.com/Ibeji_custom_in_Yor
ubaland.html) . www.randafricanart.com.
Retrieved 14 September 2021.

10. Chappel, T. J. H. (1974). "The Yoruba Cult

of Twins in Historical Perspective" (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/1158392) .
Africa: Journal of the International African
Institute. 44 (3): 250–265.
doi:10.2307/1158392 (https://doi.org/10.
2307%2F1158392) . ISSN 0001-9720 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/issn/0001-9720) .
11. " "The Demon Superstition": Abominable
Twins and Mission Culture in Onitsha
History" (https://www.researchgate.net/p
ublication/6187314) . ResearchGate.
Retrieved 14 September 2021.

12. Chappel, T. J. H. (1974). "The Yoruba Cult

of Twins in Historical Perspective" (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/1158392) .
Africa: Journal of the International African
Institute. 44 (3): 250–265.
doi:10.2307/1158392 (https://doi.org/10.
2307%2F1158392) . ISSN 0001-9720 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/issn/0001-9720) .
13. Asindi, A. A.; Young, M.; Etuk, I.; Udo, J. J.
(July 1993). "Brutality to twins in south-
eastern Nigeria: what is the existing
situation?" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.g
ov/8312211/) . West African Journal of
Medicine. 12 (3): 148–152. ISSN 0189-
160X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/018
9-160X) . PMID 8312211 (https://pubme
d.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8312211) .

14. "The Scotswoman who stopped babies

being killed" (https://www.scottishfield.co.
uk/culture/the-scotswoman-who-stopped-
babies-being-killed/) . Scottish Field. 8
June 2018. Retrieved 14 September
2021.
15. Ago, Vonchaksin #life • 4 Years (16
September 2017). "Meet the lady who
stopped the killing of twins in Nigeria" (htt
ps://steemit.com/life/@vonchaks/meet-th
e-lady-who-stopped-the-killing-of-twins-in-
nigeria) . Steemit. Retrieved
14 September 2021.

16. Skowronska, Joanna (12 September

2021). "So, she is a person, after all" (http
s://dx.doi.org/10.1177/05333164211039
982) . Group Analysis. 54 (4): 528–533.
doi:10.1177/05333164211039982 (http
s://doi.org/10.1177%2F05333164211039
982) . ISSN 0533-3164 (https://www.worl
dcat.org/issn/0533-3164) .
S2CID 240515829 (https://api.semanticsc
holar.org/CorpusID:240515829) .
See also

Mary Slessor

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