B.- GEMELITY

The cult of twins is a phenomenon of great transcendence in Africa, mainly in Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Togo. It is the posthumous representation of twins in homes where twins have died or are themselves brothers of a deceased twin. In other times and in some ethnic groups it was a disgrace that had to be tackled by sacrificing one of the twins. But in most ethnicities they are considered as those chosen by the divinities and are professed a true cult. Each twin is considered twice as much as the other and some consider that it is a single soul with two bodies and that they would be children of two different parents, one earthly and the other spiritual. In many societies a relationship is established between twins and the spirits of nature, which are often also considered by couples, so they must be treated with great caution and please even if they are capricious. They raise the admiration of people for not being like others. Being related to the divinities are a blessing from heaven. They favor health, fortune, and protect against disease and death, but they can also use their extranatural powers for evil purposes. Without any scientific explanation, the Yoruba of Nigeria, who worship the twins very special, the Ibeji have the highest birth rate in the world. For a long time, in some African cultures, twins were mistreated because they were associated with monkeys, therefore close to animals. In other places the opposite happened, they thought they had a divine character, being a miracle of nature and, therefore, the king had to share with them his throne and appoint them his heirs. It was the case in some royal courts, for example among the Tschokwees, the birth of twins was a real disgrace to the royal family, for having the right to succeed the king had to kill them at birth if the unity of the kingdom was to be maintained. However, if the birth of twins took place among the people of the village it was considered positive and the king himself took charge of their education. Currently twins are considered in almost every place a symbol of good luck for families who can bring wealth if they are honest, but also misfortune or sterility if they are not honored. Hence, gemality has generated different cults among African peoples.