important role in the daily life of the Igbo people. Chukwu is believed to abode in the sky; that is, Eligwe as noted above. In one of the earliest reports on Igbo religious affairs, in 1841 James Frederick, a missionary, wrote about the Igbo people stating:
God is continually heard. ‘Tshuku’ (a misspelling of Chukwu, the great God) 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 (Isichei 1976:25).
Religion among the Igbo is very complex and every Igbo is aware of its role and function. Religion is not farfetched in the Igbo daily affairs. In the actual practice of religion, every Igbo family is required to keep its own religious worship space, known as personal chi god (Agbasiere 2000:23) where he/she relates with the divine different from the public or general consulting spaces of the divine. In fact, religion is not separated from every other activity in the land (God, politics, business (trade) and agriculture), as in the modern day religion where for instance politics is separated from religion. In the daily life of the Igbo one would notice religious affairs going on. In this understanding, the Igbo believed that God is the creator of both material and spiritual worlds. While the humans rule the physical world, Chukwu, controls the spiritual world.
The concept of Chukwu the great God in the Igbo Ohacracy governance tradition falls to the invisible world of the divinity. According to Onwu (2002:36), the earthly material world mirrors the spiritual in which Chukwu shows in the different degrees. Hence Onwu concludes that the “Igbo are aware of the supreme reality and ultimate explanation of all the things... the Supreme Being is conceived under two major principles – (1) the principle of creation (Chi-
Okike, Chineke); (2) the principle of Absoluteness (Chi-Ukwu) – Chukwu - (Onwu 2002:14).
The Igbo thought of Chukwu is that of a Supreme Being who is the creator and sustains the material world. Ebelebe (2009:2) notes that though the Igbo are convinced about God’s existence, their reasoning abstract expressions of this Being, does not exist. The noted
expressions remain in names attributes like Chukwu, Chineke, and Osebuluwa31 and these
mean themes in relation to God’s creative power, the greatness and providence respectively.
Chukwu is believed to be the creator of all things and for this reason is known as Chineke as
Achebe (1965:162-163) notes. As god who carried, fashioned and sustains the world, Chineke is called Osebuluwa. This god has the control of all things in existence and has power over all things. All good comes from Chukwu. Chukwu is the maker of all human beings and all things in existence. All created things, both physical and spiritual are all under Chukwu’s control. As Uchendu (1965:94) rightly affirms “… the idea of a creator of all things is focal to Igbo theology; the Igbo believe in a supreme god, a high god, who is all good.” According to Ebelebe (2009:2) this understanding of God by the Igbo people stands similar like that of the Judaeo-Christian concept of God. The belief in one great god (spirit) makes it possible for the Igbo to see unity and commonality in their religious practise hence creating a unifying effect to all who live in the land as in Ohacracy daily governance as the organization and ordering of both individual and communal activities in and around the Igbo country of south-eastern Nigeria.
The Igbo religious expression of believing in one great god has enforced unity of purpose and interest since all in the land see Chukwu as the creator and owner of all human and existing beings. In other words, the Igbo people have the conviction that all people in the land are one god’s family. All belong and must be treated as such. No one must be discriminated against because all belong to this one family of a great god. Individuals are to be respected and honoured amidst the activities of the community. It is from this principle that the notion of “Chi”32 better interpreted as ‘personal god’ is to be understood.
In Ohacracy philosophy Chi would therefore be seen as the reasoning and explanatory nature of Igbo world in a rather intellectual manner of expression and understanding. In its speculative answer to Igbo individual natures, Chi explains to the Igbo the elements of luck,
31 These three attributes of God mean the following in English equivalence: Chukwu equals to Supreme God; Chineke means God the creator and while Osebuluwa means, you are among the carriers of the world.
32 In ordinary usage chi refers to light in contrast to darkness. With reference to Igbo religion chi has been
understood and interpreted in different ways like ‘a kind of tutelary spirit’, ‘personal genius’, and or ‘a personal guiding spirit’. It is best known as an individual’s personal god and is symbolized in Igbo traditional religion by a sacred tree that is planted near the front of the house in the family compound. This chi is associated with either personal fortune or misfortune. It is seen as a complex principle affecting every individual’s existence for good or ill. Chi therefore represents the focal point of a‘personal religion’ (Agbasiere, 2000:54). Chi in this sense emanates from the spirit messenger of the godhead, Chukwu in Igbo religion.
fortune, destiny or fate unique to an individual. This belief unveils the idea of how the Igbo treat destiny and fate as with regard to the outcome of events in one’s life. While writing from a perspective of law and order, Njoku (2013:258) maintains that the Igbo notion of Chi has tremendous effect in the ordering and the imposition of law in the Igbo Cosmic view. Hence God is the source of law and through Chi, God manifests God self. The arena where God operates is the earth the abode of human. To understand further the centrality of the religious beliefs on Ohacracy model of Igbo governance, the next section highlights the important role played by Ala, the mother-earth.
4.2.2.2 The Belief in Earth Spirit “Ala” as Basis for Ohacracy Model of