The Man Who Carries His Parasitic Twin Attached to His Abdomen: Jean Libbera

In the period when circuses and shows attracted great attention all over the world; audience, “Double-Body Man” He was greatly interested in his twin, Jacques, who emerged from the body of Jean Libbera, known as Jean Libbera. It is a matter of curiosity how such an unprecedented situation came to be.

His head buried in his brother’s stomach Jacques’ survival depended entirely on Jean’s bodily functions. This situation caused Jean to shoulder the difficult burden of carrying her twin throughout her life.

Jean Libbera was born in 1884 with a twin born attached to his stomach.

Jean was one of 13 siblings, and Jacques, who was born attached to his stomach, developed asymmetrically in the womb, resulting in the smaller one being attached to the larger and more developed one. This situation, conjoined twins It is an extremely rare condition.

Because conjoined twins often die in the womb, doctors today remove the parasitic twin after birth so that the surviving twin can develop healthily. However, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as medicine was not so developed, people with parasitic twins often took part in circuses and shows with their siblings attached to their bodies. Jean Libbera He was one of these people.

Libbera has always lived life for two.

This situation did not prevent her from getting married and establishing a life for herself. He got married and had four children. He died at the age of 50 while spending his life with his twin. The fact that there is very little information about his life preserves his mystery. Libbera, who spent almost all of his life in circuses, surprisingly “Double-Body Man” It became known as.

Libbera, who spent his life in a circus where people with strange bodies were exhibited, was presented to curious audiences from all over the world. She showed off her twin in her womb.

His ‘dead’ brother also wore costumes in the shows.

Photographer According to the testimony of Diane Arbus It is unknown whether people actually fainted when they saw Jean Libbera. In one photo, Libbera was seen wearing a tuxedo, while his parasitic twin attached to his abdomen was wearing small patent leather shoes.

His twin, Jacques, had two arms and two legs. According to the report Jacques was not dead and could even move. Jacques, whose vital activities depended solely on his brother, shared everything with Jean, including his circulatory and nervous systems.

How could he survive if his head was buried in his stomach?

According to the book “American Sideshow” by Marc Hartzman Pamphlets distributed at Libbera’s performances indicate that an extensive X-ray showed Jacques’ partially formed head embedded in Jean’s stomach. However, it is difficult to know exactly how much of this information is real and how much of it is exaggerated for the show business.

When not on stage, Jean led a relatively normal life; He would cover his brother with a cloak outside of the performance. However, as he got older, he said goodbye to the show business and settled in Italy. He said goodbye to the world with his brother at the age of 50.

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