Thursday, May 5, 2011

Nuer Twins

Nuer (NE Africa) twin infants’ bodies were placed in trees due to their purported kinship with birds. Both birds and twins were children of God, gaat kwoth, spirits who dwell in air and clouds. A stillborn twin was left in a reed basket in a tree fork and birds of prey supposedly left them intact. Adult Nuer twins weren’t buried, but were laid on a platform with no ceremonies. Twins did not attend others’ funerals.

That was extracted from an article on the anthropology of twin deaths from the 'Twin Research and Human Genetics' journal. Fascinating stuff.
I originally saw this on Mindhacks

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