MANIFESTACIÓN DE BUENAS RAÍCES (CUALIDADES)

Our Igbo ancestors were philosophers who were

inspired by Chiukwu/Chukwu, the Supreme Being. In other words, our Igbo ancestors like other ethnic

groups received the revelation of God. Igbo religion is as old as humanity. It is a well-established fact that religion in Africa in general is at the root of African culture. Its is the determining principle of African life. Thus religion is their basic philosophy and philosophy is their religion.

It is for this reason that one comes to the conviction that the Igbo people are born religious. In Igbo world, time and space, objects and persons are made sacred. People born into the Igbo world approximate to the spiritual. Thus people are born with their personal ‘Chi’ or personal god or protective spirit.

The question here is what is the origin of this religious sentiment in the Igbo? In other words what is the origin of Igbo traditional religion? This question has not been a scholarly focus. Many renowned Igbo scholars have written on many aspects of Igbo

traditional religion but that question has never attracted their conscious attention.

Professor A. E. Afigbo (1981:9) in his Ropes of Sand first muted the idea of the origin Igbo Traditional religion, and I share his insight on the subject.

The history of the origin of Igbo traditional religion must be sought within Igbo history of origin. Igbo lived a hazardous wandering life of the hunter and gatherer of wild edible plants. The tradition of Nri disclosed how the Igbo entered a settled 1ife which brought him further development of skills.

The Nri Myth has it that the father of all Nri was Eri. When Eri was sent by Chukwu from the Sky to the earth, he sat on an anti-hill because he saw watery marshy earth. When Eri complained to God Chukwu, sent an Awka blacksmith with his fiery bellow and charcoal to dry the earth. After the assignment, the Awka blacksmith was given ọfọ as a mark of authority for his smithing profession. While Eri lived, Chukwu fed him and his people with azu-igwe! But this special

food ceased after the death of Eri. Nri his first son complained to Chukwu for food. Chukwu ordered Nri to sacrifice his first son and daughter and bury them in separate graves. Nri complied with it. Later after three-Igbo-weeks (Izu atọ = 12 days) yam grew from the grave of the son and cocoyam from that of the daughter. When Nri and his people ate these, they slept for the first time; later still Nri killed a male and female slaves burying them separately. Again, after Izu Ato, an oil palm grew from the grave of the male slave, and a bread fruit tree (ukwa) from that of the female-slave (Afigbo, 1981:41-42). With this new food supply, Nri and his people ate and prospered. Chukwu asked him to distribute the new food items to all

people but Nri refused because he bought them at the cost of sacrificing his own children and slave. Nri and; Chukwu made an agreement. According to M. D. W. Jeffreys (1956:123) a tradition has it that:

As a reward for distributing food to the other towns Nri would have the right of cleansing every town of an abomination (nso) or breach, of crowning the eze at Aguleri, and of tying the Ngulu (ankle cords) when a man takes the title of ozo. Also he and his successor’s would have the privilege of making the Oguji, or yam medicine, each year for ensuring a plentiful supply of yams in all surrounding towns, or in all towns that

subjected themselves to the Eze Nri. For this medicine all the surrounding towns would come in and pay

tribute and Umunmdri people then could travel

unarmed through the world and no one would attack or harm them.

Another tradition claims that because Nri would not sell yam to his neighbours, he then demanded seven fowls, chalk, a pot and goats, with these he made

medicine Ifejiọkụ, the yam spirit, which he gave to the applicants. They took this home with the new crops and sacrificed to it. This tradition has some variation but basic facts still remains (Isichei, 1977:22-23; Thomas, 1913:50).

The discovery of yam cultivation formed not only the economic base of Igbo civilization but it also carried tremendous religious import. It was of such great importance that it was given ritual and symbolic expressions in many areas of Igbo life -- (Sacrifice at Nfijoku/ Ifejiọkụ during Yam festival/Iriji). The Nri myth suggested how agriculture and iron technology brought tremendous changes in the life of the Igbo. These changes Afigbo rightly indicated includes (1) the more effective mastery of the land, (2) the growth

of population, (3) the elaboration of the archetypal Igbo social institutions (4) the evolution of a

cosmological system in which the Earth (Ala, Ani, Ali) then became deified and occupied the central place as the ordainer and guardian of morality, the source of law and customs.

It is significant to note here the emergence of Igbo cosmology from the Nri myth in which Ala {Earth goddess) became the arch-divinity in Igboland. Thus from the myth the Earth (Ala, Ani, Ali) was so

important to the Igbo that it became the most vital function of Eze Nri to preside over its worship.

This development accords with the otiose character of Chukwu - the Supreme Being - in Igbo cosmology and the domination of the lgbo world by the Earth

goddess. This is not only peculiar to the Igbo; it is a common perception of the Supreme Being as Deus Otiosus in primal religions.

The Nri myth which contains Igbo cosmology also has in it an important dimension of historical truth not yet

hitherto recognized, namely, the origin or evolution of Igbo traditional religion (Afigbo, 1981:9). We wish to suggest and maintain based on Nri myth that Igbo traditional religion is going through a three-stage development. The first stage is what we may call the Eri period. This period agrees with Professor Afigbo's periodization in 1983 which he labeled the a-horizon. This first stage is the earliest period of human

existence, the probable dynamic age of Chukwu, when God created and dominated the earth, including the Igbo world. The age of pure intuition marked by the over powering awareness of the presence and

nearness of Chukwu the creator. The God fed Eri and his people and Eri had intimate contact with Chukwu and worshipped him alone. This was the age of

innocence and what existed at period was pure

religion. This was because man had not come to need intermediaries between him and his creator. Igbo myths and folklores lend validity to this claim (New; 1985:15-32 Iwuagwu).

'The second stage is the hunting and gathering stage of existence when the Igbo had not fully come to a full appreciation of the value of the land. This I call the Nri period, when with the coming of agriculture and iron technology the Igbo attention shifted from the sky above to the earth below, with Ala, Ani, Ali

displacing 'Chukwu' into a supposedly remote inactivity. This is the supposed period in primal societies including Igbo when 'Chukwu' came to be perceived as the Deus Otiosus the withdrawn God, the absentee landlord. This period marked the dominance of the Earth goddess in Igbo traditional life and the origin of Igbo traditional religion. Based on Nri myth, it became the chief function of Eze Nri to preside over the worship, veneration and purification of the Earth through rituals and sacrifices. Professor Afigbo calls this period the b-horizon marked by recession of pure intuition, the fall of man, the withdrawal of the

creator and the domination of man's daily existence by a hose of gods and spirits. At this time the Igbo adopted divinities which appear to work in controlling their world.

The dominance of the Earth goddess in Igbo land at this period is well acknowledged. On this Professor Anene (1966:12-13) stated:

Among the Igbo law and custom were believed to have been handed down from the spirit world from time immemorial from ancestor to ancestor. The spirit world comprised a hierarchy of gods: the most

important perhaps was the god of the land-the unseen president of the small localized community. No

community is complete without the shrine of the god of the land.

The god of the land in context refers to the Earth goddess whose influence is very great in a society whose economy is primarily agricultural. It is at this stage that the Igbo abandoned the worship of Chineke God to the worship of the created things. The

acknowledgement of the High God, the Creator, at the same time as he is dealt with as remote or withdrawn forms the major basis of the concept of deus otiosus or deus remotus or deus absconditus which many writers have given attention to at various times (Pettazzoni, 1954:Horton, 1971 85-108)

Apart from the worship of Ala, other divinities arose in several other communities. Some of the prominent ones included Ibinukpabi of Arọchukwu, Amadiọha (or Kamalụ) also known as the "god of: thunder"

whose shrine was at OZUZU (now in Rivers State); the Ogbunworie of Ezumọha, Mbano; Igwekaala of

Umunọha (South-Igbo sub-culture area); Agbala of Awka and Ọha Mmiri of Oguta to name a few.

The organizers of these cults were diviners, priest, medicine men, traders and other ritual experts as well as men of note in the community who considered their life, political and economic interests threatened. Quite often people go to these divinities to take oath. Their origin in most of those communities is

unknown, they do not have documentary history but they were believed to have been brought by their

respective ancestors many of whom were unknown to them. Some of them are said to have taken their origin from outside Igbo territory and especially from Igbo neighbours such as Efik, Ibibio Yako and Ekoi.

(Onunwa, 1990:11, 21, 31).

Two of the prominent Oracular divinities - Ibinukpabi of Arọchukwu and Ogbunworie of Ezumuọha were destroyed by the British in 1901/02 and 1910

respectively, but their influence still linger. At the moment there are severa1 millions of deities and divinities in Igbo land.

something definitely went wrong. It is the stage that Igbo ancestors abandoned the worship of God the Creator to the worship of the created things - Ala and other divinities. At this point, the created being

becomes so powerful that it took the place of 'Chukwu' in Igbo traditional life. Ikeji or Iri ji (yam festival) which Ndi Igbo celebrate with fanfare is part of the ritual that goes with the worship of the yam spirit (Ifejiọkụ; Ahiajọkụ). Many rituals and sacrifices accompany this celebration even in our time. Loss of contact with 'chukwu' generated insecurity and fear which necessitated the development of seeking help from powerful deities for protection and for doing evil.

Thus there came a great gap, a lacuna in Igbo

spirituality. As the Nri myth would tend to suggest there arose a broken link between chukwu and Igbo ancestors, a broken link that has to be restored.

The development gained impetus in the third stage of development of Igbo traditional religious life. This period Prof.. Afigbo called the c-horizon but which we now refer to as the Arọ Era. The Arọ Era is what

era of Arọchukwu Ascendancy with its Ibinukpabi Oracle - their famous Long Juju. The era, which we regard as "the most tragic" for the Igbo race because of the evils of slave trade and slavery. A lot has been written about it. It is obvious that Eze Arọ one of the highly recognized kingship stools in Igbo land pre- date the existence of Ibinukpabi Oracle. It is an Oracle, which no Arọ person would like to discuss. However, it is generally believed to have been

imported from a small Ibibio shrine (Isichei, 1976:59). The influence of the oracle in Igbo land was like a

harmattan fire. It is believed to have conferred so much prestige and authority on the Arọ to such an extent that in 1896 an Arọ person proudly announced to a white man at Aba in "broken English" that he was an 'Arọ man' and a 'God boy' (Isichei, 1976:59).

Scholars agreed that the oracle rested on a deliberate deception. The Arọ civilization of the period was

extremely idolatrous, materialistic and dehumanizing. The Arọ civilization generated trade in which the Igbo were commodities of trade. The slave trade bred a disregard for human life. It is reported that in Nsukka ten human slaves sold for a horse and in Uburu in the 1880's a horse was exchanged for four to six adult human slaves (Isichei, 1978:47). Professor

Ọnwụejeọgwụ indicated that Ibinukpabi supported slave trade, which brought into Igboland depopulation due to instigated wars, family disorganization, ritual cannibalism and human sacrifices (1987:56). Thus

Arọ at this period combined slave trade and manipulation of the oracle by a highly intelligent group or kinsmen for their religious and economic interests. Thus fear of insecurity, constant wars, headhunting at this period led many Igbo resort to seeking the protection of divinities and deities most of which were imported.

Similarly there emerged highly developed secret societies as a new (p.12) instrument of social control. This is not to say that secret society was absent in Igbo land but it became prominent. The Arọ brought secret societies from Efik-Ibibio areas into Igbo land, such as Ekpe, Okonko, Obong, Akang. The Arọ made great use of them and because of their influence cult houses were erected for them at the village centers of several Igbo communities, for effective control of

communities. They also made use of nsibidi sign for communication which made the need for initiation quite attractive. Thus it was common to hear that the need to belong to a secret cult would enable one pass through the road (ka ewere ya ga n'uzo). In effect, this period brought about the multiplication of deities or divinities for security.

In sum, according to Igbo myth Igbo religion in its purest form originated as a direct revelation of 'Chukwu, 'Chineke' to the Igbo earliest ancestor. In course of time, the subsequent earliest Igbo ancestors lost touch with the original revelation, and turned their back on 'Chukwu' but focused on the worship of created things -- Ala/Anị (the Earth goddess) not as creator but as their sustainer and protector. This leads to the theory of the origin of Igbo traditional religion as a combination of psychological and sociological needs for their protection and survival.

Thus in their various studies Basden, (1938), Meek, (1943), Forde and Jones, (1962), Ilogu (1973), and other numerous researches conducted on Igbo

traditional religion in the department of religion, all agree that the idea of 'Chukwu,' Chineke,' is central to Igbo traditional belief and life. We agree with

Nwanunobi (1992) that the overwhelming situation is such that even though there is a belief in the Supreme God in Igbo traditional religion, the brand of belief is characterized as polytheistic. It is a type of polytheism in which the High God, 'Chukwu' presides over the lesser gods often perceived as intermediaries in the cosmic hierarchy. The Earth goddess was the arch- divinity with omenala as its governing moral code which regulates human relationship with the land

according to what obtains in the land or community.

Having therefore examined rather briefly the origin of Igbo man and his traditional religion let us then

inquire into how the Igbo man perceived his world, his person, his vision and his mission.