The True Nature Of Ancestral Spirits, Deities In Igboland

In Africa, traditional Igbo religion includes belief in almighty creator known as Chiukwu Okike, Chukwu Okike or Chineke (God with capital ''G" in English), an earth goddess (Ala), and numerous other deities and spirits as well as a belief in ancestors who protect their living descendants.

In Igbo palance, we have so many ancestral deities like the following:

• Amadioha
• Anyanwu na Agbara
• Ngwu
• Eze Udo
• Aro Akpa Aka
• Ijele Oke Mmụọ
• Ngene
• Akpu Mmiri
• Orji
• Ojukwu
• Arobinagu
• Nne Ogwugwu
• Akwali Omumu
• Agbonma
• Etc.

Let me start by telling you what deity is in Igbo land. A deity is a representative of almighty God in a particular aspect. For example, when you need god of fertility in your family, maybe women in your family find it difficult to conceive or give birth, your father as the head of that family will go to his ndi mbu na ndi Egede to seek their advice about his misfortune. They may advise him to invite god of fertility which is Akwali Omumu in his family.

What he will do is to institute Akwali Omumu which is the spirit of Okike (God) in the aspect of child fertility. Akwali Omumu is the aspect of God in charge of blessing women with children. He will go on and make a remark where he gave Akwali Omumu a place in his family. He will be praying in front of that place. When he has done that, it becomes his alter for Akwali Omumu deity. His generations to come will know there as the place of the deity of their family. When they continue to grow in numbers from generations to generations, it will eventually become a deity of a kindred (umunna), clan, village and town, depending on how their family lineage is.

Now every deities in Igbo land is God in various aspects. Stop seeing odinala Igbo practitioners as evil people. They interact with nature directly through those deities. So when you see a deity or shrines, know that it is God (Chiukwu) that is being venerated there but in a particular aspect of Him.

Our forefathers has Ofor of this various deities. They can be Ofor ndi mmiri, Ofor ndi enu-ani and Ofor ndi ichie ngwuru or clan. Since colonization, Christianity dealt us a great blow and destroyed us. They made us believe our own way of communicating with Eze Chukwu Okike Abiama is evil and brainwashed us into destroying our Ofor ndi ichie and our ancestral deities working for our own protection.

As you are coming back to the odinala your root, try as much as possible to know which one of your ancestral spirits is following you and as well know your reincarnator (your Onye Uwa or Chi Uwa). Once you do that, you will venerate Okike with them and be at peace in your life and everything that concerns it.

Yagaziere gi! Iseeeeeeee!!!

Credits:

O.E.