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Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by Horus(m): 2:32am On Nov 18, 2007
Nigeria's 'land of twins' baffles fertility experts

IGBO-ORA, Nigeria (AFP) - Igbo-Ora, a sleepy farming community in southwest Nigeria, welcomes visitors with a sign proclaiming "The Land of Twins". "There is hardly a family here without a set of twins," said community leader Olayide Akinyemi, a 71-year-old father of 12, as he settled a dispute between two neighbours."My father had 10 sets, while I had three sets. But only one set, a male and a female, survived," he said.The town's high incidence of twins has baffled fertility experts,underscoring a more regional twin trend and an array of elaborate African rituals around them.The rate of identical twins is pretty steady throughout the world at about 0.5 percent of all births, according to a 1995 study by Belgian researcher Fernand Leroy, who has worked extensively on twins.But West Africa bucks that trend, particularly with a much higher incidence of fraternal, or non-identical twins than in Europe or Japan. That is especially true, experts say, amongst Nigeria's Yoruba community which is largely concentrated in the southwestern part of the country where Igbo-Ora is located.

[img]http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20071112/capt.sge.tnp59.121107055651.photo00.photo.default-320x512.jpg?x=215&y=345&sig=fTYwMIvnPOyrne_KCAY7iQ--[/img]
Twins in Igbo-Ora

Overall, almost 5 percent of all Yoruba births produce twins, the Belgian study said, compared with just around 1.2 percent for Western Europe and 0.8 percent for Japan,although fertility drugs in the developed world are changing those figures.Yam consumption may be one explanation for Africa's largesse, some West Africans and Western experts believe. Yams contain a natural hormone phytoestrogen which may stimulate the ovaries to produce an egg from each side.
For their part, Igbo-Ora's residents appear nonplussed about their twin phenomenon.Some like Akinyemi support the yam theory and point specifically to the reputedly high oestrogen content of agida, the local name for yam tubers."We eat a lot of okro leaf or Ilasa soup. We also consume a lot of agida. This diet influences multiple births," he said.Others are not so sure."The real cause of the phenomenon has not been medically found," said Akin Odukogbe, a senior consultant gynaecologist with the University Teaching Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, the nearest big town."But people attribute the development to diet," he continued, adding that studies have shown that yam can make women produce more than one egg which can be fertilised.Chief nursing officer at the hospital Muyibi Yomi, who records a monthly average of five twins for every 100 births, puts it all down to genetics."If a family has a history of multiple births, this will continue from generation to generation," she said.That should be good news for Yorubaland, where twins are regarded as a special gift from God and bearers of good luck, Akinyemi said."Twins are treated with affection, love and respect. Their birth is a good omen," he said. But while many African cultures see twins as blessed, they often believe twins also have divine powers and the ability to harm those who cause them displeasure. In pre-colonial times some communities used to kill twins and occasionally their mothers, believing a double birth was an evil portent and that the mother must have been with two men to bear two children at once. A Scottish missionary is credited with ending this practice. In Yorubaland and indeed in large swathes of sub-Saharan Africa, twins are also believed to possess one soul between them. This belief accounts for a whole series of distinctive, and in some cases macabre rituals that are often country specific. If one twin dies in a Yoruba family, the parents order a wooden figure called an "ibeji" to be carved, to take the place of the dead twin. The half soul of the deceased twin is thought to live on in the ibeji figure,which is clothed, "fed" and carried by a mother exactly in the same way as the living twin. When living twins reach maturity they take responsibility for the ibejis' care. Meanwhile, a twin who dies in Malawi is buried with a piece of clothing belonging to the surviving sibling. But when a twin dies in South Africa, the surviving twin is made to lie face down on his sibling's coffin the night before the burial, to mourn his death and say goodbye properly. Another variant has the surviving twin being made to lie face up in the freshly dug grave the day before his sibling is buried. If not, communities fear the surviving twin will pine so much for his dead sibling that he will also die. Amongst the Yoruba,one of Nigeria's dominant ethnic groups who are also present in Benin, Ghana and Togo,a mother who loses both twins will take part periodically in ritual ceremonies where she dances with both ibeji figures, either one in each hand, or both tucked into her shirt. Anthropologists say the elaborate rituals surrounding twins go back to the days when perinatal mortality was very high for twins;the increased chances of premature delivery compounding the problem of inadequate healthcare in traditional societies. The rituals were destined to help communities come to terms with the loss of the babies.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071112/wl_africa_afp/nigeriafamilytwins
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by ikamefa(f): 2:33am On Nov 18, 2007
when is the next flight to igbo-ora? tongue
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by ifyalways(f): 9:52pm On Nov 18, 2007
hmmmn i love twins kiss kiss kiss
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by olanajim(m): 11:29pm On Nov 18, 2007
Seriously, did the experts not observed that poverty is the second most visible feat recorded at Igbo Ora? Well, I happened to know this through my contact with them. They are fertile no doubt, but the sends their kids to neighbouring locality and Lagos, due to poverty. They don't need any medal, what they need are family planning experts. Child labour is very common there.

I don't envy them at all. No one should pray for what would impoverish him or her.

1 Like

Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by spoilt(f): 12:49am On Nov 19, 2007
im going to start eating more yams so that with my next pregnancy i'll knock it out in one shot and close shop! grin
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by ikamefa(f): 2:25am On Nov 19, 2007
spoilt:

im going to start eating more yams so that with my next pregnancy i'll knock it out in one shot and close shop! grin

dem tell you sey na yams dey give them twins for there? " grin "


olanajim:

Seriously, did the experts not observed that poverty is the second most visible feat recorded at Igbo Ora? Well, I happened to know this through my contact with them.[b] They are fertile no doubt, [/b]but the sends their kids to neighbouring locality and Lagos, due to poverty. They don't need any medal, what they need are family planning experts. Child labour is very common there.

I don't envy them at all. No one should pray for what would impoverish him or her.

yes sir! the fact still remains that them dey manufacture twins for there " grin "
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by wendymanda: 2:31am On Nov 19, 2007
Seriously, did the experts not observed that poverty is the second most visible feat recorded at Igbo Ora? Well, I happened to know this through my contact with them. They are fertile no doubt, but the sends their kids to neighbouring locality and Lagos, due to poverty. They don't need any medal, what they need are family planning experts. Child labour is very common there.

I don't envy them at all. No one should pray for what would impoverish him or her.


Why can't we just be happy. I don't think its fair to say that twins or kids improvish people. Everyone in Nigeria does not hav twins but the whole country is generally poor. What the government should do when they take a little rest break from stealing money is help people with too many twins.
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by Zandra1(f): 4:31am On Nov 19, 2007
@ poster, thats sooo cute.
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by olanajim(m): 9:15am On Nov 19, 2007
Wendymanda, Ika,

I happen to love twins and I want 3 set if my babe can take it.

You see, in yorubaland, twins are supposed to transform impoverished home to wealthy home. Won so ile alakisa d'ile alasho. But in Igbo Ora, they are achieving the opposite. Does that call for celebration?

Sure, I rejoice with them for being on world map. I think they got their priority wrong. With illeteracy and poverty ravaging their land, their preoccupation must not be how to make more twins but how to embrace family planning.
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by omena555(f): 12:43pm On Nov 19, 2007
i love twins. i'd like to have a set, one boy and one girl, and that will be it for me. tongue
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by Horus(m): 3:19pm On Nov 19, 2007
Nigeria boasts world's twin capital
(Nigeria has the world's highest rate of twins)


Within Nigeria, the south-west leads the way and within the south-west, the town of Igbo-Ora comes out top of the twins league, population experts say.
Twins 
Igbo-Ora: 158 twins per 1,000 births
Europe: five twins per 1,000 births

In a study, renowned Sierra Leonean gynaecologist Patrick Nylander found that in Igbo-Ora, three sets of twins were born in every 19 births. Head chief Lamidi Adeyemi, who of course has a set of twins himself, says that in the past, families with twins converged on the town, increasing the chances that their children would in turn have twins, or even triplets. And once the families with twins moved to Igbo-Ora, he says that twins began to be worshipped as deities. Nature or nutrition? While Mr Adeyemi explains the high twinning rate by lineage, some locals have other theories.


The town is proud of its record

Kehinde Morawo has a twin brother but says his family boasts many more twins and he in turn wants to have twins when he has children. "I believe it's the food we eat that's why we have twins." In particular, he says it is caused by the fondness of ethnic Yorubas for yams, locally called isu. Another local resident, Mr Oniyide, says: "It's a common thing and I regard it as a blessing from God." The facilities at the babies ward at the local Olugbon Hospital may be threadbare but the delivery of twins is a routine procedure, according to medical director Rasak Tijani.


Igbo-Ora

"I cannot say it's peculiar to us because of the food we eat but it's more genetical."
"Those in other local government areas in this area eat the same food as us. We have the same culture and practice but the rate of twinning is different," he says.
But consultant gynaecologist Donald Imosemi at Nigeria's biggest medical institution, Lagos university teaching hospital, says that food may indeed play a part. Extensive studies on multiple births have been conducted, showing that yams contain the chemical gonadotrophins, which helps women produce multiple eggs, he says. "There's enough reason to want to believe in this theory."
"Even among the Yorubas living outside the Western part of Nigeria, the twinning rate is found to be very high." While the birth of twins is generally celebrated, it also means an extra mouth to feed in this region of subsistence farmers.


Some experts say the high
rate of twins is genetic


One local resident said that it was difficult to raise his twins because they need twice as much attention. "You're now faced with providing two things for two people. So definitely you're going to spend so much for the two of them," he said.
But another agreed with Chief Adeyemi that twins should be worshipped.
"It's a sort of honour to be so-called Baba or Iya Ibeji,Father or mother of twins,because they are a special breed from God."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2253845.stm
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by spoilt(f): 3:55pm On Nov 19, 2007
ikamefa:

them tell you sey na yams dey give them twins for there? " grin "




this town has been in the news for a while. they suspect its all the yams they eat. They consume pounded yam like crazy!  grin
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by ifyalways(f): 4:03pm On Nov 19, 2007
i took fried yam this morning.ma lunch is gonna be pounded yam and dinner is gonna be yam porridge.hope its the right step to haing twins wink spoilt?

i love twins kiss kiss kiss
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by spoilt(f): 4:13pm On Nov 19, 2007
ok im off to the african store to buy a carton of yams. grin
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by CrazyMan(m): 4:22pm On Nov 19, 2007
Hmmmm
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by ikamefa(f): 4:49am On Nov 20, 2007
olanajim:

Wendymanda, Ika,

I happen to love twins and I want 3 set if my babe can take it.

You see, in yorubaland, twins are supposed to transform impoverished home to wealthy home. Won so ile alakisa d'ile alasho. But in Igbo Ora, they are achieving the opposite. Does that call for celebration?

Sure, I rejoice with them for being on world map. I think they got their priority wrong. With illeteracy and poverty ravaging their land, their preoccupation must not be how to make more twins but how to embrace family planning.

i k i n d a understand where you are coming from! smiley

spoilt:

this town has been in the news for a while. they suspect its all the yams they eat. They consume pounded yam like crazy! grin

if that is so ! then am supposed to be shitting twins now! now! as i siddon for this puter! grin grin grin


spoilt:

ok im off to the african store to buy a carton of yams. grin

take am easy oh! grin before those cartons of yams ,gives you yam legs instead of twins grin grin grin
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by Nobody: 5:09am On Nov 20, 2007
lol
yam and twins.
Spoilt goodluck with your yams.
Don't forget oga has to be involved grin
to produce the Taiwo and Kehinde
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by olanajim(m): 7:19am On Nov 20, 2007
Nwando,
that is another good point though women wombs actually determine whether it will twin or not.

Ikamefa,
where am I coming from? I hope you don't mean Igbo Ora?
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by Nobody: 9:14pm On Dec 12, 2010
OMFG its not fair! i want twins SOOOOOOO bad! one boy and girl, so i can have my two and get pregnant ONCE! grin
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by Nobody: 5:51pm On Dec 13, 2010
ifyalways:

hmmmn i love twins kiss kiss kiss

I guess dreams come true then! wink wink
Re: Nigeria's 'land Of Twins' Baffles Fertility Experts by ifyalways(f): 9:53am On Dec 14, 2010
Ujujoan:

I guess dreams come true then! wink wink
You can say that again.

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