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Historical SummaryThe appreciation of twins would seem on the face of it no more than positive recognition of a numerical contribution to the population in an extraordinary way. This appreciation is, of course, very strong in Africa and elsewhere. But definitions and positive or negative appreciations are most frequently related to a background and context of belief and custom, that is to say, to a body of previous interpretations, and this background has always magical and supernatural elements. Thus among the Baganda of east central Africa
the birth of twins was regarded as a most important event, for they were regarded as due to the direct intervention of the god Mukasa, and this necessitated great care and numbers of tabus, in order to retain the favor of the god. Any mistake on the part of the parents, or any sickness which befell the twins, was looked upon as the result of the god’s anger, which might extend to the whole clan.2
2Roscoe, J.n/an/an/an/an/a, , 64–65 (The Macmillan Company. By permission).
Chicago:
The Baganda in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. Thomas, William I. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937), Original Sources, accessed July 18, 2025, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=IEZQJE3JXY8BK4N.
MLA:
. The Baganda, in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, edited by Thomas, William I., New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937, Original Sources. 18 Jul. 2025. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=IEZQJE3JXY8BK4N.
Harvard:
, The Baganda. cited in 1937, Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. , McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York. Original Sources, retrieved 18 July 2025, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=IEZQJE3JXY8BK4N.
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