auto_awesome Twin names
Rituals around twins
Among the Fon, the birth of twins (hǒxò) sets off a whole series of rituals that accompany the children and their parents throughout their lives.
Welcoming two linked souls
When twins are born, the Fon family celebrates a major spiritual event. Twins are considered divine messengers, endowed with special powers.
The hòxóví statuettes
If a twin dies, a wooden statuette is carved to represent them. This statuette, called hòxóví (little twin), is considered alive.
The mother must care for it as she would a living child:
The wash it regularly
Thedress it
The feed it symbolically
The perfume it with kaolin
This rite maintains the spiritual balance between the two twin souls.
The Vodun cult of twins
Twins have their own cult in Beninese Vodun. Annual ceremonies bring families of twins together to honor this sacred bond.
A bond that goes beyond death
In Fon culture, the bond between twins is eternal. If one dies, the other must keep up the spiritual contact — through rituals with the statuette. It is believed that twin souls “seek each other” in the afterlife.
A spiritual universe
The rituals around twins show the depth of Fon cosmology. Each birth places the child within a network of invisible relationships that must be honored.
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