In vodou culture, the marassas are endowed with the power of the gods. Twins are mysteres (mysteries), who, since they can never be deciphered, must be held in high esteem and revered. As Alfred Metreaux writes: "Some even contend that the twins are more powerful than the loas. They are invoked and saluted at the beginning of the [vodou] ceremony, directly after Legba." This is no small thing, for Legba is the sun god, the keeper of the gates; he is thus associated with Christ and, as the "guardian of universal and individual destiny," with St. Peter as well. Twins are believed to "share a soul": "Should one die, the living twin must put aside a bit of all food he [sic] eats, or a small part of any gift given him [sic], for the other." Sophie's inability to eat, then, can be understood as having been...