Castor and Pollux are the Divine Twins of Greek Mythology. They are the children of Leda and Zeus. Zeus assumed the form of a swan to seduce Leda. For this reason, you see the eggs in the picture. They supposedly were hatched from eggs. This would be natural since their father was Zeus in the form of a swan. They were great warriors and accompanied Jason and the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece. Legend goes that upon their death they were transformed into stars in the sky and became the constellation of Gemini. So we see that the twins held a special place in the religion of the Greeks.
Marassa is the term used in the Haitian tradition to represent the Divine Twins. The Twins belong to all the different Mysteres or groups of "loas", whether you refer to Rada or Petro or Congo rites. There are different "caminos" of the Twins in the Haitian tradition. You have Marassa Guinin which are the African Twins, but you also have Marassa Bois, or the Twins of the Woods and Marassa Bord de Mer, which are the Marassa of the seashore. The Twins are very important in the Haitian tradition. In ceremonies, they are saluted right after Legba is saluted. Some say that they walk beside the Grand Mysteres and are more poweful than the Loas. Just as in Africa, twins born into a family are treated specially and with great respect. The child that is born after twins is considered to be even more powerful. This child is called a dosu, if male, and dosa, if female. Sirits of twins that have died are considered to be dangerous, and must be attended with offerings. It is the same in our tradition. If one twin dies, the other must have a wooden image consecrated to represent the dead twin and must look after it and attend to it in a spiritual manner. These same practices continue in Africa today, which is only normal, since they were derived from the ancestors.
