The Documentary Podcast

Twin towns

The small rural town of Igbo-Ora in south-western Nigeria proclaims itself to be the “twin capital of the world". It has an astonishingly high twin birth rate. Everyone here wants to have twins because in Yoruba culture they are believed to bring good fortune and are celebrated almost as deities. And yet, in another part of Nigeria, near the capital Abuja, a different community once viewed twins with fear. Twins were seen as the manifestations of evil spirits. There were even reports that some twins were killed as infants. Nigerian journalist Peter Macjob visits both communities, to hear about the lives of twins and explore the power of traditional beliefs.

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