The artist requires other items from the parents of the deceased to successfully carve the figure. For one child the items include: two kolanuts of any type, two alligator peppers, two dried fish, two dried rats, two snails, two cocks or two hens depending on the sex of the deceased, four kegs of palmwine, sixteen pieces of of big yam, four calabash full of beans, four calabash full of corn, and four tins of palm oil (1).
However, if both twins have died the parents must double the amount of items. Also, one more cock is required to be sacrificed at the base of an ire tree. This tree is believed to be sacred to the ibeji God and is the wood used for the ere ibeji. If the parents do not produce these items the process will be slower and it will bring them bad luck. The parents of the deceased must also bring food and drink to the artist while during the carving process. The process usually takes not more than one week. For artists, the ire wood is fairly easy to work with (1).
Ere Ibeji
(Ere ibeji - from ‘ibi’
= born and ‘eji’
= two; 'ere'
means sacred image)