Want twins? Go to Igboora

Want twins? Go to Igboora

·       Community where every family have sets of twins

Segun Ajiboye and Innocent Duru

When it comes to multiple births around the globe, no name is quite evocative, so resonant as Igboora, a relatively known town in south-west Nigeria.

It is true that much have been said and written about the city of Paris and its allure. And it was to this credit that the cliché- ‘see Paris and die’ was coined.

But a similar story is currently playing out in Igboora, where a cliché, ‘if you want a set of twins, come to Igboora’, is gradually gaining momentum among the indigenes of this sleepy town.

And sure enough, it is not for nothing that the people would boast of their prowess in the biological art of giving birth to sets of twins.

According to researchers, the rate of twin births in West Africa is about four times higher than in the rest of the world. While there is no accurate figures on the exact number of these births, a study conducted by a British gynaecologist, Patrick Nylander, between 1972 and 1982 recorded an average of 45 to 50 sets of twins per 1000 live births in the southwest. But the centre of the multiple births has been found to be Igboora.

And in honour of this uncommon ‘achievement’, the people roll out the drums in an annual festival, tagged ‘odun ibeji’ (festival of twins). Among the indigenes and residents of Igboora, odun ibeji would dwarf other world renowned festivals like Christmas and Ramadan. The community celebrates the festival annually and generously invites anybody who wishes to have twins to come to the community.

 The festival is an annual celebration in Igboora, where virtually every family has a set of twins or more. As a testimony to its being a repository of twins, you are welcome into the community by an imposing statue of a woman carrying a set of twins, one on her chest and the other on her back.

With their hands stretched out, the characters in the statue are apparently saying welcome to Igboora, the land of twins. Recent statistic has it that the community has about 158 sets of twins in every 1000 births.

Historically, unlike Calabar, where history has it that the birth of twins was regarded as a taboo in the ancient times, birth of twins in Igboora has from stone age period been regarded as one of the best things that can ever happen to a family.

In the same way as crude oil is a natural gift to the people of the south southern part of the country, the birth of twins is an inexplicable gift in the community, and it has been proved that hardly is there a family that does not have a set of twins or more in the area.

Those who are yet to have a set of twins in their families fervently pray for one because the birth of twins is believed to bring blessings. This is the case with 60-year old Nosiru, a motorcycle mechanic, whose father had two sets of twins, but is yet to have one himself.

“I am praying that I have a set of twins myself. My age is not a barrier, and as a matter of fact, I believe that I will still have one.”

Even the poor members of the community who already have one or two sets of twins wish to have more without minding the economic implication. They simply believe that the twins are gifts from God, in whom they have a firm belief to provide what the children would eat.

Interestingly, this rare gift of nature has shot the obscure community into international limelight with the United Nations World Health Organization rating it as the community that has the largest number of twins globally.

The gift is, however not restricted to the natives as checks revealed that non-indigenes who live in the area have also been giving birth to twins. This was the opinion of Chief Lamidi Laide Adeyemi, the Onipako of Pako, Igboora.

According to the chief, the birth of twins is not limited to any part of the six component areas of the community. He said: "The birth of twins is everywhere here in Igboora. Hardly would you see a family in this community without twins.

“My father had sets of twins, so also did my grandfather. I am a father of twins as well. One is in Lagos and the other one in Port Harcourt. They have just married and would hopefully give birth to a set of twins or more.  From the time immemorial, our forefathers have always regarded twins as unique creatures and adored them so much.

“There is hardly a family in this community that does not have twins. It is not restricted to the natives. Even non-indigenes in our midst have also been giving birth to twins. So if you want to give birth to twins come to Igboora.”

 Even though their claim has not been verified, the community strongly believes that their record breaking feat is as a result of the white cassava flour and ilasa soup, which is acclaimed as the most popular delicacy in the area.

“The cassava flour and ilasa soup that we eat has been touted to be responsible for the multiple birth over the years," Chief Adeyemi stated.

In Igboora, twins don’t die. Even when one of the set dies, either at birth or later in life, he or she is not deemed to have died, but rather to have ‘traveled to Lagos to purchase stuffs’ for the living partner.

With the benefit of hindsight, the chief recalled that when one of a set of twins dies, the parents would carve a statue the dead.

"Traditionally, we don't say that a twin is dead, even when he or she is late. Instead of saying that, we always say that he or she went to Lagos to buy cloth. Our forefather even went a step further by carving statues of the dead ones to make it appear as if they are still living. They always wanted their memories kept alive. They always pass it from one generation to the other. I have some of such statues handed over to me by my father and forefathers.

As proof, Chief Adeyemi brought out some visibly old statues, which he said were more than a century old.

 “These statues are over 100 years old. They were all passed over to me by father. And I will in turn pass them to my children. They are not to be discarded or treated anyhow because there is a spell on whoever does that. The culture of carving images to represent dead twin has been drastically affected by civilization. Many youths of these days don't do all that again, but that does not mean that it has been abolished," he said.

And the story assumed a strange turn when the chief revealed that ‘shrines’ are also built in a special corner in the homes of the parents of twins. You have a container, in which palm oil is kept. The palm oil, he said is used as balm whenever the twins fall sick.

"Previously, our people always make a shrine in a corner of their rooms for twins. They always offered red oil at the shrine. The red oil is believed to be medicinal because whenever a child, especially any of the twins is sick, our people would take the oil kept in the shrine of the twins to rob their bodies, and before you know it, the sick child is up and playing around with his mates. “In fact, if anybody had his property stolen, such person could go to the shrines to ask the twins to help him deal with the thief and retrieve the stolen property. All they needed to do was to offer things that are forbidden for twins to eat at the shrine. Anybody asking for the help of twins in this regard would say that it is the thief that instructed him to offer such vile food to them. It is believed that such would compel the twins to go after the perpetrators of the crime. It worked for them. There are testimonies of its efficacy."

Speaking on the annual festival of twins he said: "The festival of twins is a very big celebration in this place. We celebrate their festival annually because they are very special to us and the community as a whole. What we do on the day of the festival is to cook beans and mix it with oil and invite people to come and feast with us. Every family that has twins does it on the festival day.

“On the day of the festival people desiring to have twins would pray for it. The oldest twins in this community clocked 100 years this year. One of them died few months ago while the other one has been taken to Lagos by her children.”

 Among the interesting beliefs about twins and their families in Igboora is that they are forbidden to eat the flesh of all species of monkeys. According to this general belief among the people, the monkeys are regarded as distant relations of the twins.

The chief also explains: “Twins from this community are totally forbidden from eating the flesh of monkeys. It is a taboo and it is believed that it would amount to eating their own flesh if they do such. It is not the twins alone that are prohibited from eating monkey. Every family that has twins must also not eat monkey."

Nasiru Aremu, an artisan in Igboora is not unaware of the myth surrounding the birth of twins in Igboora. For him, the high record in the birth of twins in the town is beyond the common delicacy of cassava flour and the native soup.

His reason, he said is rooted in the fact that people who enjoy similar delicacy outside the town don’t have the same high record of multiple births.

 "It is true that the kind of food we eat in this environment makes us to have multiple birth. But that does not mean that people outside this area can give birth to sets of twins if they eat same delicacy. For anyone to enjoy this gift of nature in the manner we do here, the person must come and drink our water. You have to drink the water from this land and eat our delicacy before you can have twins in the manner we do here.

"My father gave birth to three sets of twins. Some of them have also given birth to sets of twins. I am yet to have a set of twins, but I am hoping to have one or two sets of twins very soon because their birth attracts a lot of blessings and favours,” he said.

Yemisi Jimoh has two sets of twins. From her look, she does not seem comfortable in any way. But on this day, she was boisterous and proud as a mother of two sets of twins. For her, the birth of two sets of twins is a special gift from God, and a sure indication that the future is ‘very bright’.

She told The Nation that she desires to have more sets of twins despite her seeming poor status and limited wherewithal to take care of them.

She said: "I have given birth to two sets of twins already. One of the first set is dead, but here we don't say they are dead. We simply say they have travelled to Lagos to buy cloth. Even though the economy is inclement, I wish to have one or more sets of twins. It is God that provides and takes care of the children we give birth to. There are many who have no children and can still not feed well. We have many children and God has been providing us with the basic things they need to live happy and healthy lives.

“I want more twins because experience has shown that they bring a lot of good tidings to any family that has them.  There has been a tremendous improvement in our income and standard of living since we started having twins. The story is the same with many families that have twins in this area."

Taiwo and Kehinde Ajasa are both are artisans. While Taiwo mends bad tyres, Kehinde repairs motorcycles a few metres away from his brother’s shed. They are both happy to be twins.

"I am happy to have come to this world as a twin, especially in this kind of environment where the birth of twins is highly appreciated. I have had a very wonderful time with my twin brother all along. Our parents also shower us with love. But because we are identical, we suffer for each other’s shortcomings and also benefit from the good gestures. I want to give birth to twins because I am one,' said Taiwo.

Kehinde, on his part said he would wish to marry a twin. "I wish to marry a twin and give birth to sets of twins so that my family can be home of twins.

"As twins, we can eat everything, but monkey. Our family members must also not eat it. Tradition has it that we may die or suffer serious calamity if we eat it.

During our festival, our food is cooked beans, mixed it with palm oil. It is the food of twins anytime and we always enjoy it." 

Thirteen-year-old Taiwo and Kehinde Owonikoko also share the sentiments of the Ajasas.

The teenagers are highly elated to have been born as twins.

"It is a great privilege to have been born a twin. There is something extraordinary about us. Our siblings that are not twins don't get much attention from our parents as we do. We would also like to have twins when we marry because there is a lot of pride and blessings in having twins," said Kehinde.

Alhaji Adekunle Hamzat, a prominent indigene of Igboora and former chairman of Ibarapa Central Local Government, said he was not aware that birth of twins was so many in the community until WHO came up with the result of its research on the community.

Though Alhaji Hamzat is yet to have a set of twins himself, he is very proud that his hometown has been regarded as the place where multiple births are unprecedented.

"It dawned on me that we have rampant cases of multiple births in Igboora when the World Health Organization made public the result of its research on the community. There is even a compound where the people give birth to triplets regularly. It is amazing and we are proud that such a bundle of joy is happening in our midst," he said.    

The former local government chairman is not alone in this, everywhere you turn in Igboora, the indigenes are happy and ready to revel in the rare feat of their hometown.

However, while Igboora has been confirmed as the bastion of twins, researchers may need to take further steps in unraveling this myth, and why surrounding towns with almost similar delicacy don’t have the same high rate of multiple births.