Brutality to twins in south-eastern Nigeria: what is the existing situation?
Asindi, A.A.; Young, M.; Etuk, I.; Udo, J.J.
West African Journal of Medicine 12(3): 148-152
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0189-160X PMID: 8312211 Document Number: 336447
It has long been a taboo in some parts of Southeastern Nigeria to bear twins. Mothers who bore twins were thought to have had intercourse with the devil spirit and given birth to something monstrous and unnatural. The offspring were brutally killed and the mother was shunned by her husband and cast out of the family. These women were then relegated to live in "twin villages." Female twins who survived were shunned throughout life. By 1915, however, following intervention by the British Government, twins and twin mothers were assumed to have been fully integrated into their communities. Little outside attention has therefore since been given to cruelty to twins and their mothers. Recent rumors that twins continue to be abused in the region prompted the authors to conduct a survey January-June 1991 among the Efik, Ibibio, and Annang to determine their attitude toward twins and their mothers. 56.2% of the 619 women interviewed stated that they would be happy to have twins. Approximately 35% of the respondents would not want to have twins mainly because of the economic and other burdens associated with having two children at the same time, but none would abandon their infants. 8.9%, however, associated twins with taboo. Of these 55 mothers who associated twins with taboo, 25, 14, and 16 said they would accept, reject, and kill their infants, respectively. 6% of the twin mothers would be cast out, but none killed by their husbands' families. The intention to perpetuate abuse was seen in all three tribes, but appears to be most pronounced among the Annang. Health workers in the region who encounter twins with failure to thrive should consider rejection as a possible contributing factor. Study findings point to the urgent need for these populations to be taught that twins and their mothers are not associated with taboo.