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Igbo Heritage Comment: The 1988 Ahịajọkụ Lecture (Onugaotu)
Colloquium comprises three presentations, 1) IGBO DEITIES,
By N. S. S. Iwe, 2) THE IGBO IDEA OF THE SACRED: CONTEMPORARY OBSERVANCES By T.
Uzodinma Nwala, and 3) UNDER THE EYES OF THE GODS: SACRALIZATION
AND CONTROL OF SOCIAL ORDER IN IGBOLAND By O. U. Kalu INTRODUCTION In his seminal work, Sacrifice
in Igbo Religion, now fast becoming a classic in the genre, Francis
Cardinal Arinze proffered an explanation of the phenomenon of religion among
men from the subjective and objective standpoints. In the first sense, it is
"the consciousness of one's dependence on a transcendent Being and the
tendency to worship Him;" in the second, "religion is the body of
truths, laws and rites by which man is subordinated to the transcendent
Being." We may note that the use of the passive form of the verb in the
second definition introduces an element of involuntarily, suggesting that man
may be inserted willy nilly within a religious framework of existence. Nonetheless, the two aspects of the religious experience are
obviously interconnected: it is the subjective consciousness of a
greater-than-oneself in the cosmic scheme of things which predisposes to the
acceptance of the "truths, laws and rites" by which this awareness is
made manifest in behavioural terms, whether by choice or by submission to some
external fiat. In other words, the notion of religion comprises from the outset
both a psychological and a social dimension. It implies on the one hand the
possibility of individual mental states arising out of personal encounters and
confrontations with what the German religious historian Rudolf Otto calls the
"nouminous" the suffusion of existence and its environmental props
with "an atmosphere of the awesome," the mysterious and fascinating.
On the other hand, this possibility of a variety of individual mystical states,
each in its own way charging the external world with mental and spiritual
attributes, creates a permanent need for some kind of regulatory syncretism at
the group level, and out of this syncretism emerges a social order in which the
varieties of the individual experience of the sacred are transmuted into the
requirements of existence and survival in a given environmental setting. Accordingly, we may characterize religion for our purposes here as
a way of life; or more precisely as a system of beliefs authorizing or
sanctioni6g a generalized set of observances based on the acknowledgement of an
ultimate relationship to a universal principle or essence which is regarded as
immanent in nature. The mental concretizations of this universal principle are
of course the transcendent Being which we call God, Chukwu, the Deity. The belief in God logically signifies faith in a
divinely-ordained order in the world and furnishes a permanent spiritual
meaning for existence in the sense of an extra-mundane focus, the ultimate
individual and collective consummation in which becomes the object and the
justification of existence, and therefore salvation. Religion is thus essentially a cultural phenomenon. The
prescriptions of the Deity i.e., the perceived conditions of spiritual
salvation translate into a moral code expressed as the behavioural formulation
of the objective requirements of the transcendental order, and justified on
this basis. Viewed this way, religion becomes both the aspiration to and the
reality of individual and collective communion with the Deity, with the
universal principle of existence, the means of ensuring conformance with this
principle as interpreted and conceptualized in the particular setting. That is
to say, it becomes a mechanism of social control of enculturation into a way of
life. It becomes in effect the conscious manipulation of the idea of the
supernatural for purely mundane purposes including such purposes as overt or
surreptitious suppression of one culture by another. All these aspects of the phenomenon of religion feature in the three
Papers discussing the Igbo Idea of the Sacred presented in this years Ahiajoku
(Onugaotu) Colloquium which are herein reproduced. Rev. Dr Iwe's exegesis of Igbo deities is a good starting point,
for it sets out to underline the "mature foundations for our knowledge and
recognition of the existence of the creator." Dr Iwe evokes the now
fatuous-sounding anxiety of early European colonialists and missionaries as to
the ability of Africans "to handle abstract ideas and concepts and to make
logical inferences or conclusions from appropriate statements. Dismissing the
European conception of "primitive" religion as the spiritual
expression of cultures which supposedly have not yet achieved a sharp
intellectual distinction between the spiritual and the practical, between the
sacred and the profane, he asserts that the awareness of God "is and has
been at all times the common heritage of humanity." Dr Iwe distinguishes clearly between the Igbo conception of the
Supreme Being, Chukwu "the
creator", and the host of lesser divinities, beneficent or malign, who ere
properly seen merely as particular manifestations in time and place of His
omnipresence and omnipotence as shaped and fleshed out by the cosmic forces
acting on the human perception. For the Igbo, Dr Iwe asserts, the Supreme Being
is neither uncertain nor remote but an integral aspect of their communal being;
such that "the refinement of public morality in the light of contemporary
beliefs" cannot be achieved without a fruitful dialogue between the Igbo
theological heritage and the Christian belief structure which has been
superimposed on it by recent history. For Dr Uzodinma Nwala, who discusses contemporary observances in
the Igbo idea of the sacred in the next contribution, this necessary dialogue
not only has not been fruitful to date, but is unlikely ever to be. It has
consisted essentially, he suggests, in a monologue in which Christianity has
talked down to traditional religion and has ended by subverting it. What has
transpired, therefore, has been "the systematic and uncritical destruction
and neglect of traditional religion" in a contest which he say8 should
properly be seen as a clash of cultures, "a contest between two
theologies." Dr Nwala thus introduces a nationalistic dimension to religion
according to which the latter ought to be regarded as one of the pillars of
"the identity of a people" which in turn is "a function of their
history and culture. He asserts that modern Christianity as practiced in its
original homeland and exported to us, has become, in effect, the soul-less
ideology of a materialistic civilization that has lost all essential touch with
the divinity. His solution to this dilemma will certainly strike many readers as
having the merit of departing boldly from received orthodoxies. Following this interlude not entirely devoid of certain polemical
elements, one might add Professor Kalu in the next presentation affects a
more detached sociological approach to the social uses of the idea of the
sacred in Igbo tradition "Under the Eyes of the Gods, his eye-catching
title, is a disquisition on the sometimes circuitous but more often (end
especially in the case of tradition in an acephalous segmentary polity without
centralized formal mechanisms of social control) explicit connection between
religious precepts and the requirements of social stabilization. His study
reveals that the impact of ecology and cultu2al differentiation on the
sacralization and control of social order in Igboland has led '.o a remarkable
richness of sub-cultural variations in social control devices within the
general framework of standard pan-Igbo cultural forms. What comes across, as other scholars have remarked, is an Igbo
moral universe that is thoroughly suffused with sacred symbolism and ritual in
a socio-religious system that was deliberately designed to legitimize power,
achievement and wealth such as to ensure their acquisition in morally
satisfactory ways. Professor Kalu is careful to point out, however, that the
Igbo were "not so incurably religious that all modes of social control
were clothed in religious garb." Secular modes of control existed.
Professor Kalu mentions a plethora of examples, but adds significantly that the
inability to harness effectively the resources of the environment produced an
emphasis on nature and professional spirits as a sort of wistful
anticipation and transcendence, one may surmise, of the as yet inadequately
developed human capabilities that could not avail for the time being. This suggests of course the inevitability of a diminution the
powers of the sacred in the face of increasing secularity and modern
technology. But perhaps what will chiefly transpire thereby will be a mere
substitution of symbols, a replacement of god-based mysticism with the equally
mysterious workings mysterious, as with traditional symbolism, to the
uninitiated of technological rationality. After all, as Arthur Clarke has
enunciated, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable
from magic." In the past as in the present, and one expects in the future as
well, "human leaders," to use Professor Kalu's words "pose as
stewards and endeavour to clothe themselves with a divine aura as managers of
Chukwu's estates." Which is as good a summary as any of the Igbo
traditional conception of the sacred. The Editors IGBO
DEITIES BY N. S. S. IWE A. INTRODUCTION Chineke E: Oh God: My God! These and similar
exclamations in Igbo and other languages and cultures have been from time
immemorial, the spontaneous and instinctive recourse of the human spirit to the
Supreme Being, the Author of its existence, in the face of unanticipated and
momentous happenings, whether joyful and catastrophic. Human nature
instinctively seeks, asserts and confesses its author, God. It is, therefore,
not only by reflection on the nature of the universe that the Africans
(including the Igbo) have come to the knowledge of the existence of a Supreme
Being, as Mbiti has remarked, but also by instinct and intuition.[1]
Here is the significance and implication of the idea of the human spirit as the
image of its creator. Philosophical analysis of the existence of God and
logical proofs of the same, simply confirm and consolidate the nature
foundations for our knowledge and recognition of the existence of the creator.
As a consequence, the awareness of God is and has been at all tines the common
heritage of humanity. Fortunately for humanity the erstwhile denigrate of African
cultures is more fashionable, and Emil Ludwig's rhetorical question below now
strikes one as comic. "How can the untutored Africans
conceive God? . . . How can this be?... Deity is a philosophical concept which
savages are incapable of framing."[2] A ridiculous story was told during the early 1960s about the
anxiety and skepticism of the early colonialists and inexperienced missionaries
with regard to the ability of the Congolese to handle abstract ideas and
concepts and to make logical inferences or conclusions from appropriate
statements. In other words, in the first half of this century, serious doubts
were expressed by some Western European agents and scholars about the maturity
of the mental and psychological faculties of the Africans. However, modern anthropological studies have demonstrated
convincingly that the Igbo and other Africans possessed a culture endowed with
a definite concept of the deity, the divine and sacred, the spiritual and
religious.[3]
Hence the truth of Mbiti's assertion: "We can say, therefore, that the
African view of the universe is profoundly religious. Africans see it as a
religious universe, and treat it as such."[4] B. THE IGBO AND THEIR
SPIRITUAL (WORLD-VIEW) Fortunately again for us, the Igbo are very keen and stable participants
in this African culture of the divine and the sacred.[5]
The Igbo vision, understanding and interpretation of the universe of beings are
deeply spiritual and religious, and the following features of Igbo spiritual
world-view are clear evidence of this fact.
For the Igbo there is no
hostile dichotomy between the sacred and the secular.
Idowu regards chi as the divine essence in man, the inner man, the
essential man.[7] In Christian theological
terms, chi may be identified as personal guardian spirit or angel. Chi is the
ontological basis of the Igbo belief in immortality and this belief is in turn
the ground for their belief in reincarnation and religious reverence for
deserving ancestors. In this context Ilogu commented as follows: This belief or desire for immortality
is part of the background to the cult of the ancestors through which the dead
share in life of the living."[8] The traditional cult of the Igbo is marked by liberty, variety,
relevance and communality.[9] (a)
(b)
Variety as a religious factor in Igbo religious
practice takes into consideration personal and local circumstances and other
natural contingencies and human events such as wars, epidemic, flood, famine,
thunder, madness, etc. (c)
Relevance, which Ilogu identified as
"Utility", as a feature of Igbo religious cult and attitude, seeks to
ensure for them the worship of a divinity whose powers are efficacious and
productive of positive and salutary results.[10] In a sort of enlightened spiritual and religious pragmatism, the
Igbo are ever prepared to abandon the worship of any divinity whose relevance
to their lives is not sustained. It is this special Igbo attitude to religion
that Echeruo, in the first Ahiajoku Lecture incisively characterized as a
factor of the crisis of ethnic identity, in spite of the evidence of our
religiosity. He went on to say: "What is equally true is that we
are a thoroughly iconoclastic people; that we keep our gods in our hearts and
have only an appropriately respectful attitude to the circumstances that
surround them. We respect the gods, but as the proverb says, we also expect the
gods to respect us. We acknowledge the power of the gods, and cultivate that,
power; but when these gods consistently fail to prove themselves powerful, we
reserve the right to discard them and seek out new gods."[11] These insightful observations are clearly indicative of the Igbo
traditional quest for relevance and meaning in their culture. However, this
search for relevance has led in the past to fanaticism, and as I have remarked
elsewhere: "The danger of irreligiosity is
minimal in the culture of the Igbo. However, the 'real danger lies in religious
fanaticism and prejudice and all other forms of over-doses of religiosity or
practice of religion beyond the bounds of reason.[12] Certainly it was fanatical to indulge in the following negative
traditional practices: (i)
the
destruction of twins, considered an adulteration by evil spirits of the sacred
spring of human reproduction; (ii)
human sacrifice, especially during the funeral rites of
elders and chiefs, to ensure their safe passage and security in the world of
spirits beyond.[13] (iii)
the
establishment of the osu and ume caste
systems, with their unfortunate social consequences.[14] (iv)
the
social (especially funerary) discriminations and deprivations visited on
members of the society who died during the sacred months, or through such
diseases believed to have been inflicted by the evil spirits such as major
inflammation .of the scrotum, leprosy, small pox, heart-attack or stroke (i.e.,
mmba-mmuo), etc. In all this, our ancestors were ignorant, but had good intentions,
namely, to pay respect to the gods and the departed and to the source of human
life. However this erroneous good intention succeeded in
institutionalising terror, injustice and cruelty.[15] One may nevertheless add here, as I had stated elsewhere: . . . religious extremism and
fanaticism are alien to the traditions of the Igbo culture, which substantially
upholds freedom and responsibility in religious belief and practice."[16] (d)
Communality is another characteristic feature of
Igbo religious tradition. The Igbo sense of solidarity finds deep expression especially
in the realm of public morality and religion. The point has been in a striking
manner by Ilogu: "Communality is the essence of the
gods. They are the common possessions and guardians of all. No one sins to the
gods alone. Punishment for the sin of one man is visited on all. The blessings
of the gods are also shared by all."[17] Thus for the Igbo, morality, religion and God are not merely
personal affairs but a matter of social concern and common experience,
engendering social rights and responsibilities.[18] I may summarize this section with a quotation from an earlier work: "The Igbo as a people possess a
culture that is perineated and pervaded by a sense of the divine, the
mysterious, the supernatural and of divine providence. Their attachment to God
or the deities is almost instinctive and emotional. Appeal to the divine and
divine providence colour and characterize personal names, parables and proverbs
. . . Such personal names as: chukwudi
(There is God); Chukwuma (God knows); Chukwuemeka
(God has done great); Chukwukere (God
created); Iwuchukwu (God's law or
plan); Ikechukwu (God's power); Ikpechukwu (Gods judgment or verdict),
which are so common among our people, are constant evidence of their devotion
to God."[19] C. THE IGBO DEITIES In modern times quite a few Igbo scholars have researched into the
area of Igbo deities and their relevance to Igbo life and culture, especially
Arinze, Ilogu, Onyioha, Kalu, Metuh and a few others deserve special attention.[20]
It would be unnecessary to restate their well-known contributions in this area.
However, my intention is to consider here the basis of Igbo theology and
subsequently the traditional spatio-temporal focus of the interaction of the
Igbo and their God, namely, the shrine. In the first place, it is necessary to reaffirm the not-too-well
appreciated fact', especially since the advent of Christianity among the Igbo,
that the Igbo are fundamentally and eminently monotheistic. In other words,
they believe in one and only Supreme Spirit, one almighty God.[21]
There might be a suspicion here that this writer is trying to attribute to Igbo
tradition the subsequent theological achievements of Christianity among modern
Igbo. However, this is obviously not so; this is clear from the eye-witness"
account of the Missionaries themselves as far back as the first half of the
19th century when Christianity had not penetrated Igbo culture. A German
missionary, writing on the Igbo in 1841, confessed that: "The word 'Tshuku' God, is
continually heard. Tshuku is supposed to do everything. Their notions of some
of the attributes of the Supreme Being are, in many respects, correct, and
their manner of expressing them, striking. 'God made everything: He made both
White and Black' is continually on their lips. Some of their parables are
descriptive of the perfections of God.[22] It is evident from the above that the Igbo belief in one Supreme
God predated Christianity.[23]
It is not a modern theological development arising out of the Christian faith and
heritage, as some modern Igbo Scholars would want us to believe. I have in mind
here Nwọga's view that the concept of the Supreme Being is an exotic
theological importation entirely strange to the Igbo traditional religious
heritage.[24] The discussion above
shows that this is not quite true. In the second place the Igbo recognize and believe in a pantheon of
divine beings or spirits, Mmụọ, Arụsị. Here is a
collage of both good and evil divinities, inferior and subordinate to the
Supreme Being, but endowed with special powers in the affairs of human beings
and over the material forces of the visible universe. As Idowu rightly
cautions: "We should however observe here
that the divinities owe their being and divine authority to Deity and that they
are not to be confused with him in any way."[25] In the third place, there is the Igbo belief in-Chi, or
personalized divine providence, a guardian personal spirit (a direct endowment
by God to each person) providing the necessary ontological basis for the
communion of every human being with his Creator, his ancestors and posterity.
As Isichei well observed "the living, the dead, and the unborn form part
of a continuum . . . The ancestors watch over the living, and are periodically
reincarnated among them.[26] In the light of the above submissions, the basic elements of Igbo
traditional theology may 'be represented geometrically as a triangle with God
at the apex, the two sides symbolizing the good and evil divinities while the
base-line representing Chi and the Ancestors, as in the following diagram
below: THE SUPREME BEING DEITY Igbo theology is therefore, essentially a triangular communion of
the human spirit with the Supreme Deity and the divine and ancestral spirits in
man's search for security, harmony and peace both in this visible universe and
in the invisible universe. Now a brief comment on each of these basic elements of Igbo
theology will be appropriate. 1. GOD THE SUPREME
BEING: For the Igbo, God is a person in the full philosophical richness of
this word. In this perspective, to be a person means to be a being endowed with
intellect and will-power; a centre of consciousness, "of valuation,
decision and choice", an autonomous subject of rights and
responsibilities.[27]
It is in this light that the Igbo perceive God as a person with all the
attributes of a divine personality in the transcendental, absolute and eminent
degree. Though the Igbo see God as transcendental in His being and perfection,
they believe strongly in his immanence in creation. We agree with Idowu that: "In African thought, Deity is
absolutely essential and cannot be disregarded; the notion of a god as so
transcendent that he is not immanent is alien to African belief ... Africans
are explicit about the divine rulership and absolute control of the
universe."[28] The major names by which the Igbo identify the Supreme Being
illustrate this point: i.
Chukwu (Chi-Ukwu) The "Great Source Being or Spirit".
"The Great One from whom being originates."[29]
Here is the Great Chi, from whom all human beings derive their personal Chi or
guardian spirit.[30] ii.
Chineke The creator spirit Here is God's
name as the creator and Uncaused Cause of the Universe. iii.
Osebụlụwa Here is God's name as the Lord,
Sustainer and Foundation of the universe. iv.
Ọbasị-bi-n'igwe God who lives in Heaven. v.
Eze di n'igwe God the Lord of Heaven. vi.
Igwe ka vii.
Amọ ama amacha amacha: Here is God's name in His infinite
capacity and incomprehensibility vis-a-vis the limited cognitive capacity of
mortal man. These selectively itemized Igbo names for God portray His
transcendence, pre-eminence and creative power; His immanence and unique
sovereignty over the universe.[31] B. SOME IGBO THEOPHORIC
NAMES: The theophoric personal names given to children at birth are also a
clear index of the Igbo concept of -God. Here are some examples: i.
Chukwudi God exists ii.
Chukwuma God knows iii.
Uchechukwu God's Will iv.
Amara Chi God's Grace v.
Chukwuemeka (Olisaemeka) - God has been benevolent vi.
Nwachukwu Child of God vii.
Ngozichukwu God's blessing viii.
Ifeanyịchukwu (Iheanyichukwu) Nothing is impossible
with God. The above sample of Igbo theophoric names signify among, other
things, the Igbo concept of God as a living Being immanent and present in the
lives and activities of human beings (His creatures). A thorough examination of
the Igbo idiom and characteristic myths establish as much. For instance, two
common Igbo sayings, namely: Chukwu
Muanya mgbe nile (God is ever vigilant); Onweghi ihe gbara Chineke anya gharị(nothing is
incomprehensible to God, in His infinite wisdom) strikingly establish the
essential, dynamic and definitive traditional Igbo concept of the Supreme
Being. In summary, we may assert that for the Igbo, the Supreme Being is
not a Deus incognitus (an unknown God),[32]
not a Deus incertus et remotus (an
uncertain and remote God), Deus
absconditus (a hidden or absentee God). He is a Supreme Being high above
His creatures in nature but present among, and in communion with them in action
and influence. The Igbo regard the Supreme Being as altogether good, merciful,
just and benevolent. They do appeal and pray to Him directly, on special
occasions (of joy, sorrow, calamity or distress) or at the commencement of the
day, or on taking certain initiatives or in public deliberations. Such direct
appeals and prayers are made through incantations, libations, invocations; but
rarely through direct sacrifice.[33]
Because of His transcendence and dignity the Igbo prefer to worship Him
indirectly through the minor deities. As Arinze pointed out, the Igbo
"think it more courteous and more within man's range to appeal to the
spirits to obtain request from God. But the Igbo need no one to tell them that
without God, not even the strongest 'alusi' (spirit) can do anything."[34] II. THE DIVINITIES Igbo religious and rituals observances are focused on the pantheon
of divinities or intermediary spirits, whom they believe control the forces of
the visible universe for good or for bad. Because of the belief in their
significant, though subordinate power and influence in the affairs of human
beings, prayers and sacrifices are often offered to appease them or to attract
their blessings. There are a few major Igbo divinities. According to Ilogu: "Next to Chineke -
is a pantheon of gods: Anyanwụ
(the sun god); Igwe (the sky god), Amadị-ọha (the god of
thunder and lightning) and ala (the earth goddess)."[35] These gods with a small "g" are mere divinities or
spirits, with powers derived from God. Thus, it would be wrong to espouse the
view put forward by Idowu that these divinities are not creatures because they
are derived divinities.[36]
This view is wrong because it is logically impossible for two Supreme Beings to
exist. Therefore the lgbo divinities are created spiritual functionaries
presiding over the natural elements of the universe (such as water, the, the
land, the sky, etc.) and acting as intermediaries in man's relationship with
the Supreme Being. Now a few words on the common and major divinities of the Igbo: i.
"One divinity, however, was beyond
the capriciousness of Igbo men: that divinity is neither Igwe, nor even Chukwu,
but A la, the goddess of the earth. She was the one deity which no man or woman
and no community could afford to offend, much less discard. If ever there was a
supreme god among the Igbo it was From the reflections here on ii.
Ahịajọkụ (Ifejiọkụ). This is the god
of yam and farm work. Igbo traditional society is basically a farming
community, and yam is perhaps their most highly valued crop. Eminence in this
profession, as measured by the quality and quantity of yams produced annually,
is the basis for the award of special cultural rank and title. It was
inevitable that this vital sphere of Igbo life and culture should be presided
over by a special divinity hence the role of Ahiajoku among the Igbo as the
guarantor and custodian of soil fertility and good harvest. As a consequence,
in the words of Arinze: "The yam spirit receives his
special cult before and after the planting season. The New Yam Festival is one
of the most widespread in Igboland."[41] One may add here that in the traditional
Igbo family, new yams are never eaten until a ritual sacrifice of a cock or any
other animal has been offered to the divinity. It must be mentioned also that
in some Igbo communities where crop farming is not the central activity,
appropriate divinities are worshipped for success and security as, say, in fish
farming, where a body of water is culturally significant. This is the case With
the Igbo communities along the River Niger, the iii.
Anyanwụ (the sun god): The cult of this
divinity is more important in the Northern Igbo sub-cultural area around Nsukka
and Oboloafor. Anyanwu is regarded as a benevolent divinity and prayers are
offered to it for good health.[42] iv. < |
