Did Mary Slessor abolish twin killings in Calabar? Many historians say she didn’t.
The Efik people considered twins an evil curse, with the father believed to be an evil spirit and the mother guilty of a sin. Twins were often abandoned in the bush to die since they were thought to bring calamity to the community.
In Calabar, there is an effigy of Mary Slessor carrying babies, and streets are even named after her. In our history lessons, we were taught that Mary Slessor abolished twin killing in Calabar, but this is not so. Here’s what happened:
The fight against the killing of twins in Calabar began well before Mary Slessor arrived. In 1849, Consul Beecroft, with the cooperation of Kings Eyo II and Archibong I, attempted to ban human sacrifice and twin killing in Old Calabar. Unfortunately, the people disregarded the agreement, leading Consul Beecroft, with military support, to forcefully dismantle the town in 1855.
Another agreement followed in 1855, with King Duke Ephraim and other Efik chiefs promising British Consul Hutchinson to abolish twin killing. Mary Slessor arrived in Calabar in 1876, 21 years after the last agreement.
Missionaries like Rev. Edgerley, Rev. Hope Waddell, and Rev. Hugh Goldie (who taught Slessor the Efik language) had been working for decades to end the practice. British consuls also pressured Efik chiefs through agreements. Notably, Rev. Edgerley and his wife are credited with the first documented rescue of twins in 1852. Their actions, including seeking military intervention against Old Town served as a deterrent against twin killing.
She enforced a ban against twin murder in Okoyong in 1876, but she did not stop the practice in Calabar. To stop the twin killing, more than providing them a home, legal authority was needed. Slessor, Vice President of the Native Court in Okoyong, rescued twins who were left to die and created a sanctuary for them in Okoyong.
While Mary Slessor deserves recognition for her efforts, it was the earlier attempts and collaborative efforts that ultimately led to the decline of twin killings in Calabar.
