In southwestern Nigeria there is an ethnic group known as the Yoruba. This culture is found in other areas of Africa such as Togo, Sierra Leone and Liberia. In these countries their group is known by different names such as Anago, Tsha, Ife and Aku (Yoruba Online). Through archaeological excavations in Oyo and Ife, the Yoruba people are thought to have originated between the years 800 and 1000 AD from the Middle East (p. 13 Drewal, Henry John, John Pemberton, Rowland Abiodun, and Allen Wardwell.). The Yoruba people worship a supreme ruler or divine name Olodumare or Olorun. Their religious beliefs include immortality and reincarnation. (Yoruba customs and beliefs relating to twins). Before European and Islamic leaders changed the way the Yoruba ran their daily lives, each Yoruba area worked independently and governed itself. They also had their own specific style of speech, military and religious organizations. Even though they had different armies, they never clashed. Today the Yoruba people live in developed cities governed by an aristocratic system. They have a king and a supreme council. They work mainly as farmers or artists (Yoruba Online). The religious identifications of the Yoruba people have been divided between Islam, Christianity, and the traditional Yoruba animist religion. Among these three religions, 40% of the culture practices Islam, 40% practices Christianity, while only 20% practices the traditional Yoruba religion. Those Yoruba people who practice Islam or Christianity still share some beliefs of the traditional religion (Yoruba customs and beliefs relating to twins). The Yoruba people are a fascinating ethnic group in Africa. They are known for many things, but one... part of the paper... regarding cultural traditions is that if one of the twins dies, a statue is created in honor of the dead twin or twins. These statues are called ibeji and are supposed to take the place of that twin. These statues are not intended to be symbolic but to actually replace the twin and be seen as alive. It is important to maintain balance between the two boxes so that the living twin does not become unbalanced. Therefore the mother or living twin had to carry the twin statue with her. They must feed the statue and do whatever actions they do to the living twin to maintain balance, otherwise the living twin may die because they are unbalanced as twins are always connected. If one of the twins fell ill, instead of taking the child to the doctor they performed ritual sacrifices for the twins (Renne, Elisha P. ).