Ibeji
24 X 18
Mixed Media, Water color pencils on paper adhered to textured wood panels.

Ibeji - meaning twins in Yoruba. Yoruba people are know to have the highest rates of twin births in the world. The ibeji are considered to be of one soul but containing two bodies. The tutelary orisha of anyone who is born a twin.

Taiwo and Kenhinde are two traditional names given to twins only. Taiwo means “the one who tastes the world” and Kehinde is “the one who arrives behind”. Their names define the order they were born.

They are the orishas of joy, mischief, abundance and childish glee. One ibeji holds the energy for the spiritual personality. According to Yoruba tradition, everyone on earth has an ancestral guardian, spirit or soul counterpart in the sky that duplicates his or her actions.