Twins (Ibeji) were sometimes considered harbingers of future events. Before colonial contact, cases of infanticide involving twins were recorded; especially among the Kalabari in southeast Nigeria. In that culture, twins were treated as omens of evil that would soon befall the village. To prevent this fate; one of the twins was killed in sacrifice to the gods or ancestors of the village.With modernization and increasing contact with other cultures, this practice stopped long ago Indeed, among the modern Yoruba, families take pride in having twins. Men were once encouraged to eat yams in the belief that they increased the libido and the ability to father twins, and women who wanted to have twins were told to carry wooden effigies of twins. on their backs. Women who repeatedly gave birth to twins were accorded the greatest respect within the family.

Source: J...