14 DAY TRIAL // Ancient superstitions say that twins bring bad luck in Madagascar, an island haunted by myths, black magic and taboos. According to an ancestral belief, twins are thought to be a curse to the family and the community, and are usually abandoned at birth.
The taboo against newborn twins is based on a cultural perception of historical misfortune that was perpetuated by descendants of the Mpanjakas, a local royal family who has reinforced its cultural authority for decades.
Even today, twins born to members of the Amtambahoaka tribe are left in the wild, in the bush or on the beaches because they are considered Bad Luck Babies, heralds of flood, poverty, bad agricultural production or even death. In the past, they were left there to die, but today, many of them end up in centers where they are put up for adoption and have the chance to start new lives in loving families from Italy, France, Sweden and Canada.
Although the country's Justice Ministry has tried to reinforce the protection of twins and help those families who are choosing to resist the taboo on their own through a series of laws and media campaigns, many local people are still abandoning their twin babies believing that they are a curse to the family.
This cruel practice of abandoning newborn babies causes great suffering among the local families, as they don't really want to give away their children, but apparently they are forced to do so by the tribe's chiefs.
The Daily Mirror presents the heartbreaking story of a 20-year-old mother called Cecile, who has agreed to speak to them as part of a documentary titled “Unreported World: The Cursed Twins,” which will be broadcast by Channel 4 on May 9 and will talk about the unbelievable story of the Amtambahoaka twins.
Cecile told reporters that with no antenatal care at all, there was no way for her to know she was carrying two babies.
“When they were born I was shocked,” the young woman said.
Cecile's mother tries to explain the entire family's grief, saying that it wasn't actually their decision to make.
“We want to keep our twins. But it is up to the chiefs. If it changes we will keep our babies. But if not, we will have to keep abandoning them,” she said.
However, other mothers choose to rebel and keep their babies, proving that no superstition is stronger than the maternal bond to a child. But their decision is not accepted by local rulers, and they are forced to leave their villages and move to the outskirts of Mananjary.
“We had to move over 30 times before we came here, because people think that even renting us a home with twins will bring bad luck. Most of my family would ignore me if they saw me on the street – but nothing will ever make me give up my babies,” said a mom who has three sets of twins.