Customer Reviews

Ibeji: The Cult of Yoruba Twins (Hic Sunt Leones series)

5 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(2)
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This is a great, albeit slightly overpriced, coffee-table book.

The pictures in it are great -- cover a broad variety of ibeji, from various regions in Nigeria and W. Africa.

However, as one commentator said, there is really a dearth of information in this book. So much more explanation could have been provided -- be it on the Ibeji cult, Yoruba art or culture, or on the differences between the various figures from an art-historian's or cultural anthropologist's perspective.

Sadly though, as is the case with many art books, text is minimal so that translation is easy, and no changes have to be made as far as image size/text length is concerned.

So if you are looking for information about Ibeji, or Yoruba art, skip this book.

If however, you would like to give a twin or an (West)African art lover a great gift, this book makes for an impressive coffee table expense.

For those of us who have ever had any interest in Ebeji or have ever seen one, this book is astounding and awe inspiring. I never new that there were so many varieties and types of sub tribes. African Art is a unique and powerfull thing. It has become so popular among art collectors and the prices they claim are breath catching. However, until now there has never been a book that has so thoroughly addressed the Ebeji of the Yoruba Tribe. If you are interested in these remarkable and beautiful peices, you should buy this book. It covers everything about them as well as it shows you the infinite creativitly of the African people.

An excellent book, which is thorough in its description of the ibeji twins tradition, and also presents a vast collection of images. Importantly, looking at the Ibejis can be as informative as reading about them, which is why the images play a central role in this book. I wrote this only because of the poor review by Marcos A. M. Oliveira "Marcos Arino", which happened to be the only review, which said "too many pictures." Highly recommended; most art collectors and dealers in the field use it as a reference.

Too many pictures and almost nothing about Ibeji. It is a nice book but I was looking for, mainly, informations about Ibeji cult in Yoruba religion and culture.