TWINS

When I first started researching to write about this topic I thought I might have to write five or six dramas on these beliefs. I learned about the practice in West Africa of making a doll to replace a twin who has died. Some tribes carry this to the extent of when the living twin marries, making another doll for the first doll to marry. The possibilities for a drama about this were fascinating for me. But it would only work for one area, I thought.

Then I was in Mozambique going over some of the most recent dramas I had written with two individuals from two different tribes in different parts of the country. I presented this with the caveat that it was probably too specific a custom to be practical for a wider African audience. The first guy said, “Really? Our tribe does that.” The second guy said, “Ours does too!”

I may yet need to write another drama, but I have since learned that tribes in Democratic Republic of the Congo have this practice.

This was originally written in two parts so the recording would fit the length of the rest of the programs. But I decided to put them together for this website post.