Nakato is my Nickname

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I previously shared that being a twin in Uganda comes with a lot of tradition so I thought I would share a little more about it.

When twins are born in additional to their given name they have a word added so people know they are a twin. As the younger girl twin I would be Nakato Sarah. Emily would be called Babirye Emily. Then the parents also have a word added in front of their name so people know they have twins. Nalongo is the mother of twins and Salongo is a father of twins. Sibiligs of a twin are also given a word in front of their name based on birth order.

The main reason for this naming structure is so that others know they are or related to a twin. It is believed that twins come with a lot of power to help or to hurt. Twins are thought to bring a lot of good luck, especially to their parents including making the parents immune to witch craft as long as you do not cross them. This is a big reason that you rarely see a single mother of twins. The father believes he will be cursed or killed off by the twins if he unfaithful to them so he typically stays with the family.

Some people will come to twins and ask that they pray for them to bring good luck.

It is believed that if you cross a twin one of the things that can happen to you, or a family member of yours, is the skin condition called Vitiligo.

Twins are also considered immortal and so can not die. Their death is called 'okubuka' which means they just fly away. If they are buried it must be far away from he homestead and their bodies will not decompose.

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Comments

[Amy]

Yikes
Wonder twin power!!