Twins in the World: The Legends They Inspire and the Lives They Lead

266 Pages·2008·1.89 MB·English

by  Alessandra Piontelli

Twins in the World
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Twins in the World
The Legends They Inspire and
the Lives They Lead
ALESSANDRA PIONTELLI, M.D.
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TWINS IN THE WORLD
Copyright © Alessandra Piontelli, 2008.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2008 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the US—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN-13: 978–0–230–60597–8 paperback
ISBN-10: 0–230–60597–4 paperback
ISBN-13: 978–0–230–60596–1 hardcover
ISBN-10: 0–230–60596–6 hardcover
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Piontelli, Alessandra, 1945–
Twins in the world : the legends they inspire and the lives they
lead / Alessandra Piontelli.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–230–60596–6—ISBN 0–230–60597–4
1. Twins—Psychology. I. Title.
HQ777.35P56 2008
306.875—dc22 2008005347
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: October 2008
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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In fondest memory of
my beloved father.
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Contents
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: A Personal Journey 1
1 Our Twins 11
2 Voodoo Twins 25
3 Stone Idols 41
4 The Big Shock 53
5 Keepers and Outcasts 67
6 Forced Adoption and the Sex Trade 83
7 Let Nature Take Its Course 99
8 The Hold of Superstition 117
9 Heart of Darkness 137
10 One Gender and One Only 159
11 Abuse and Neglect 173
12 Till Death Us Do Part 185
Conclusion: Bringing It All Back Home 203
Notes 221
Bibliography 235
Index 247
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List of Figures
2.1 G irl carrying an effigy of her dead co-twin
on a waistband. 31
5.1 A proud mother with her young twins. 73
6.1 W oman from the Lake Turkana region of Kenya
hugs her newborn twin girls. 92
7.1 N omadic woman carrying twins, one on her front
and one on her back. 102
7.2 Proud Papuan father tenderly holding his young twins. 112
8.1 A bandoned Malagasy woman banned from
her village for delivering twins. 122
8.2 A village of “outcasts.” 123
8.3 T wins being brought up by their grandmother. 130
9.1 I ndios twins living in utter poverty and in
appalling conditions. 139
12.1 O ld Javan temple carving illustrating ancient beliefs. 189
12.2 West African twins with a temporary wife and
their twin girls. 197
12.3 A n old Papuan man severed off two fingers
when his co-twin died. 200
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