KWENU: Our Culture, Our Future

Chi
THE SUPREME SPIRIT
Sunday, January 8, 2006 PROLOGUE The concept of CHI, the Supreme Spirit or the formidable force of creation, is common in many religions and in scientific circles. The Igbo religion, dnan, is no exception. The name and the nature of the Force differ in many known beliefs. The Igbo ancestors probably preoccupied themselves with the arduous analyses of the nature of Chi. They tried to establish an acceptable notion of the nature of Chi. In the end, they most humbly declared that Chi exists (Chi d), but to know the nature of the Force would be the end of knowledge, hence the name Amaamaamachaamacha. This attribute endures to this day. We know God to exist, but no one really knows the true nature of God. All claims to the contrary are deep delusions. CHINEKE The falsity and futility of constructing Chi have not stopped humans from holding on strongly to sometimes-crazy concepts of Gods nature, to the point of attempting to know the beginning of God when they are yet to know when life actually begins! The Igbo theosophy has its share of attempts to explain the nature of God. What is there to explain? Actually very little, but little things have a way of growing wings and flying all over the place and causing controversies. The controversy is probably rooted in the presence of Chi in the morning of Creation (Eke) or, probably, a part of Chi that guards and guides the soul of the new person from the cradle to the coffin. Interestingly, the component of Chi is also called chi. Hence, the expression Ofu nne na-am, mana ofu chi anagh eke simply means that siblings might be of the same mother but they receive different divine attributes; it should not convey the existence of a different god of creation for each soul! To differentiate between Chi, the Supreme Spirit, and chi, the animating spirit, the term Chi Ukwu (Chukwu) is now used, which makes chi the equivalent of angels in JudaeaChristian creedbut without wings and genders. Hence, the expression Onye kwe, chi ya ekwe takes its proper meaning: One who believes, achieves with an individualized spiritual guardian. Therefore, the concept ofChi na Eke (God and Creator), a duality of deities, is a mischaracterization of Chi nEke (God in Creation) or Chineke, which is yet another name for Chi, the Supreme Spirit, reflecting its animating and creative

attributes. The word Chineke can be broken down as follows: Chi na Eke God and the Creator Chi na-eke God who creates (God creates) Chi nEke God in (the morning of) Creation Chi nne Eke God, mother of Creation (God the true Creator) Whichever applies, nothing should detract from the fact that in Igbo belief system, God is the genderless spirit that sits at the summit of the spectrum of all deities and spirits known and unknown. If it has not always been so -- and it has not always been so in many religions -- it is now so. The belief in Chineke as God the Creator is now pan-Igbo. NAMING GOD It could be argued that the Igbo have different names for God because the name for God in Igbo is as many as there are words and dialects, but the concept of one supreme spirit is set. No matter how and where, the names for God convey the idea of one Supreme Being. In northern Igboland, around Adaada area, the expression Ezechitoke, Eze Chi Abiama (Lord God the Creator, Lord God of Abiama), is common. Many names of Chi are an evidence of the Igbo continued quest to conceptualize the nature of Chi in such a way that it would bring some of the divine attributes closer to what everyone could grasp.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

The names could be classified in seven broad categories: 1. Divine designer (a) Chineke (Chi nEke) God the Creator (b) Isind The Source of Life (c) znd The Smith of Life (d) Omakaesikewa The Repository of Knowledge 2. (a) (b) (c) (d) Eulogy Ebubedike Omemma Ekwueme Omeamara

The Glory of Heroes The Doer of Good The Promise Keeper The Giver of Grace

3. Supremacy (a) Okaaka (b) Ikekaike

The Supreme Power The Superpower

(c) Alusiuka (d) Eze ndi eze 4. (a) (b) (c) (d) 5. (a) (b) (c) (d) 6. (a) (b) (c) (d) 7. (a) (b) (c) (d) Mystery Amaamaamachaamacha Ugwuanaariatuegwu Ogbarankitiokwujurunonu Oganigwe Kingship of the Universe Ezechitoke (Eze Chi Okike) Ezeigwe Odenigwe Yanweuwa (Onyenweuwa) Forces of Nature Ikukuamanonya Akaejiejeogu Akanaagbajiigwe Udeigwe Deeds Omeokachie Odumeje Dikenagha Uzunaakpunwa

The Almighty King of Kings

Lord God Dispenser of Equity / God the Creator King of Heavens The Ruler of Heavens The Owner of the World

The wind that cannot be ensnared The Hand that leads in Battle The hand that breaks iron The Echo of heavens

The final arbiter My guard and my guide The War Hero The Smith of Life

Other African nations have different names for God but, in almost all the cases, the concept of one God endures. Examples: Abasi Amma Aondo Chido Chikara Chineke Egbesu Imana Inkosi Efik & Ibibio (Nigeria) Dogon (Burkina Faso/Mali) Tiv (Nigeria) Jukun (Nigeria) Korekore (Zimbabwe) Igbo (Nigeria) Izon (Nigeria) Banyarwanda (Barundi/Rwanda) )(Burundi) Zulu (South Africa)

Jalang Mawu Modimo Mulungu Mungu Nyame Oghene Olodumare Onyankopon Oritse Osalobua Si uDali Unkulunkulu

Bambara (Mali) Ewe (Benin/Ghana/Togo) Bakwena-Tswana (Botswana) Digo (Kenya) Sukuma-Nyamwezi (Tanzania) Akan & Asante (Ghana) Urhobo & Isoko (Nigeria): Yoruba (Nigeria) Twi (Benin/Ghana): Itsekiri (Nigeria) Edo (Nigeria) Bamikeke (Cameroon) Xhosa (South Africa): Ndebele (Zimbabwe)

Many modern attributes of God are sometimes misguided and tainted by EuroChristian creeds. For example, any allusion to gender or a physical heaven is outside Igbo traditional theosophy. Then again, no one knows for sure; all we know is that Chi di (God exists); everything else is embellishment. And may the Force be with you.

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M. O. En, 2006, Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.