The Yoruba are often recognized for their extraordinarily high rate of multiple births (i.e. twins, triplets, etc) and one of the highest in the world as regards twin birth. At one point in the distant past, twins known as Ibeji, were thought by the Yoruba to be evil. As such, they were quickly killed as they were considered to be monsters and abnormal.
However, in due time a cult of twins developed in which the evil twins were now seen to be minor deities who blessed their families with good fortune. (Imagine that!) The death of either of the twins is thought to be calamitous for the family. The only remedy that remains once that happens is appeasing the soul of the deceased child through carving a figure and putting it in the care of a mother who will treat the small wooden figure as though it were alive.
