Mundo Igbo PDF

1.2.1.5.
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Igbo World and Ultimate Reality and Meaning
${protocol}://www.utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/uram.5.3.188 - Saturday, March 23, 2019 7:09:14 PM - IP Address:201.17.75.226
E. Elochukwu Uzukwu, Grand Seminaire Regional, Brazzaville, Rép. Pop. du Congo
I
I. ESSENTIA L INFORMA TION ABOUT THE IGBO
I. I. Location, Physical Environment and Demography

The Igbo-speaking people of Nigeria (W. Africa) occupy the eastern, parts of the
mid-western, and parts of the delta areas of Southern Nigeria. In modern Nigeria,
divided into 19 States, the Igbo inhabit all of Anambra and Imo States, and form a
significant minority in Bendel and River States. The land mass occupied by the Igbo is
located within latitudes 5° and 7° north, and longitudes 6° and 8° east. Technically the
greater part of this land mass falls within the equatorial rain-forest region. However,
intensive cultivation has reduced the Igbo country, with rare exceptions, to a region of
derived savanna with wild oil palm bush. Only in parts of thedelta(A hoada, Bende,Aba
divisions) and west of the Niger regions does one encounter a secondary rain-forest
vegetation interspersed with oil palms.
The Igbo country has exceptionally high population density. According to 1963
estimates, there are some areas with a density of over 1,200 persons per square mile, and
only a few areas have a density of below 200 persons per square mile (Isichei, 1976, p.5).
The official 'Nigeria Handbook ' of 1978-79, going bythedispu ted 1963census,putsthe
population of the Igbo at over nine million.
1.2. Studies
The earliest written information we have about the Igbo comes from missionaries and
colonial officials. These data range from studies of the entire southern Nigeria region
(Schon & Crowther, 1842; Crowther & Taylor, 1859;Leonard, 1909;Talbot, 1926; 1932)
to studies of given Igbo village-groups (Thomas, 1913-14; Basden, 1921; 1938). Intense
interest in Igbo polity was generated by the 1929 women-uprising in S.E. Nigeria - re-
ferred to by colonial officials as 'Aba riots.' The 'women-w ar' forced the colonial
administration to sponsor in-depth anthropological studies of Igbo village-groups.
These studies yielded very interesting results (Leith-Ross, 1934; Meek, 1937; Green,
1947). Important recent historical studies of the Igbo centre around trade, politics and
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Christian missions (Dike, 1956; Ekechi, 1971; Afigbo, 1972; Isichei, 1973; 1976;
Nwabara, 1977).
1.3. Origin and History

Tentative reconstructions of Igbo history start with the nomenclature Igbo (or 'Ibo').
The name is used primarily in reference to the language, and then to the people who
speak the language: the Igbo-speaking people. It is possible that the name 'Igbo' (whose
origin and meaning are obscure) might have been used by non-Igbo neighbours to refer
to those who today call themselves Igbo. The expression 0/u na Jgbo 'riverain' and
'Igbo' are used by Igbo communities to order their social world. Igbo is contrasted in the
expression with riverain groups; and it might refer simply to the hinterland. It appears
that during the slave trade, 'Igbo' used by riverain slave-dealing groups stood for the
slave-providing upland peoples (Henderson, 1972, pp. 40-41; Nwabara, 1977, p. 15).
The Igbo have no collective oral tradition of migration from other parts of Africa like,
say, the Bantu peoples of Central Africa who trace their origin back to the Nile valley.
Apart from the shared awareness among village-groups of their identity as a political
unit, there does not exist an awareness among all the Igbo of having descended from a
common ancestor- mythical or real. The absence of such collective tradition, coupled
with the absence of written records before the colonial era, necessarily renders whatever
reconstructions one can make of Igbo pre-history conjectural.
Even if a collective tradition of origin does not exist (binding all village-groups
together), the Igbo language remains one of the factors common to all. The Igbo are
classified in the Kwa linguistic group of the Niger-Congo language family (Greenberg,
1966, p. 8). Other members of this group whose geographicallocations are contiguous
to one another in central and delta regions of Nigeria are the Yoruba-Igala, the Nupe,
the Edo, the Idoma, and the Ijaw. Henderson (1972,p. 39) believes that the likely centre
of origin for the K wa speaking peoples should be located in the Niger-Benue confluence.
It is accepted that the division between members of the Kwa group is very old, but the
exact date when the split occurred is a matter of speculation. Preliminary glottochrono-
logical studies carried out by R. Armstrong suggested that the split from the ancestral
stock started between five and six thousand years ago (Armstrong, 1962, p. 284; 1964,
pp. 22-23). The result of Armstrong's exploratory studies could be supported by
archeological discoveries (even though archeology is still in its infancy in the area under
study). Excavations in the Cross-River (Afikpo) and Northern Igbo areas (Nsukka)
yielded tools and ancient pottery dated by radio-carbon to about 4,500 years ago. This
testifies to the age of human habitation in these areas. The similarity between the ancient
pottery work and those found today in Nsukka might suggest a degree of ethnographic
continuity in the area (Afigbo, 1975, p. 36; Isichei, 1976, pp. 3-4).
In all likelihood, whenever the Igbo invaded the equatorial forest, they must have
settled in the northern Igbo plateau: the Awka-Orlu axis. In the first place, most Igbo
communities claim their origin from these two primary centres. Ofspecial importance is
Nri (Awka and Igbo-ukwu area) where a priest-kingship of a certain age was estab-
lished. In a crisp saying the importance of this centre is underlined: 'The street ofNri
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family is the street of the gods, through which all who dieinotherparts oflboland pass to
the land of the spirits' (Leonard, 1906, p. 37). Corroborating evidence of both the age
and prestige of Nri is provided by the results of archeological finds in Igbo-ukwu
revealing a highly developed practice of priest-kingship and a facility with bronze
existing before the 9th century A.O. (Shaw, 1970).
In the second place, these primary centres (Awka-Orlu) do not have traditions of
movement from any area outside their region. In addition, the absence of the pre-
settlement rain-forest and the deterioration of the soil are explainable not only by
demographic explosion (a characteristic feature of these centres) but also by the length
of time during which these areas have been occupied by man (Afigbo, 1975, pp. 37-38).
From this northern table land the dispersal of Igbo populations began. Population
pressure was probably the immediate cause of movement in search ofunoccupied land.
From Nri-Awka, populations traversed the Niger-Anambra rivers to occupy the areas
inhabited today by the Western Igbo. The settlement west of the Niger must have been
completed before the rise of the militant Benin (Edo) kingdom (13th century), since it
would be impossible for the fragmented moving hordes of the Igbo to displace the more
organised and militarily superior Edo. From the Orlu axis other populations moved
east towards the Cross-River; and running into the Ibibio and other Cross-river peoples,
they curved north to settle in the north-east. The development of agriculture and iron
technology, accelerating mastery of the environment, are factors for dating these
migrations. Taking into consideration that the Igbo-ukwu culture (Shaw, 1970) was an
Iron-Age culture, Afigbo places the migrations in the period between 500 B.C. and 500
A.D. (Afigbo, 1975, pp. 38-41).
1.4. Agriculture, Iron Technology, Commerce

The earliest accounts of agriculture in Igbo myths are associated with the cultivation of
yam. The Igbo cultivate the different types of dioscorea (dioscorea rotunda ta, dioscorea
cayenensis, and dio~corea dumentorum) which are said to have been domesticated in the
West African yam belt about 5,000years ago (Alexander &Coursey, 1969,pp. 405-425).
Going by the Nri-Awka myth, along with yam cultivation, which was taught to the
ancestors by Chukwu (God), there developed certain important elements of Igbo
culture: the rise of priest-kingship in the Nri village-group; the Igbo staff of office and
truthfulness (ofo); the marks of sacred ritual purification cut on the forehead (ich,); and
the four-day Igbo week (izu) (Thomas, 1913-14, p. 50; Jeffreys, 1935, p. 346; 1951,pp.
98-101; Afigbo, 1975, p. 41; Henderson, 1972, pp. 60-61). These elements of Igbo
culture associated with the development of agriculture must have existed before the
great dispersal mentioned above.
Whenever iron-technology was discovered among the Igbo, it had certainly reached
an advanced stage of development by the 9th century A.D. (the Igbo-ukwu culture).
Metallurgy in traditional Igbo society is dominated by the Awka village-group. Iron
technology must have accelerated the mastery of the environment and facilitated the
cultivation of the land. However, because of overuse, the land, especially around the
primary areas of dispersal (Awka-Orlu) has undergone considerable deterioration. And
it is from this area that we have the myth of the origin of trade and the four Igbo market
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days. According to the Nri-Awka myth, Eke, Orie, Afo and Nkwo-the names of the
four-day Igbo week - are the names of four heavenly fishmongers who came to the Nri
village to open markets and sell fish. Commerce was long established among Igbo
village-groups and their neighbours in prehistoric times. Trade developed from barter
to the use of local currency (cowries from the Indian Ocean and horseshoe shaped
manillas of copper and brass) and British currency. What is exchanged varied from
agricultural products (yams, cocoyams, bread-fruit, oil palm), fish and livestock to
textiles (especially coming from the Awka-Orlu axis), iron products and slaves (Afigbo,
1975, p. 44; Isichei, 1976, pp. 29-33).
1.5. Government
lgbo enwe eze (the Igbo have no king). Apart from the Nri people who established a ritual
(though not a political) ascendancy all over Igboland (being priests of A/a-the earth
spirit), the Igbo never had any experience ofunified government before thecolonialera.
Before the imposition of colonial structures, Igbo polity was characterized by a
dispersal rather than a concentration of authority (Green, 1947).
They preferred small scale systems of government to the large scale. This provided for
a highly developed popular participation in village affairs -the Igbo are a republican
people. With due respect to local variations, one could say that the basic political lgbo
unit is the village-group. The village-group is a community of different kindreds who
may or may not have a common ancestor. The kindred is a group of extended families.
Normally a family is made up of a man, his wife/wives and children. The extended
family includes, in addition to the family, the children of the man's daughters and sons,
maternal and paternal uncles and their families. The head of the extended family is
called opara (first-born son), and he presides over the assembly of the extended family
(umunna-children of the same father). The village assembly is presided over by the
onyeisi (head-man- the oldest man in the village) or whoever inherits the presidency (in
places where headship is hereditary). Again with due respect to local variations, village
assemblies are normally attended by members ofthevillagecouncil(elders), o/o-holders
(ofo - symbol ofauthority and truthfulness -is held by heads of families and kindreds,
and priests of the various local spirits), titled men (in village-groups where a title system
exists), leaders ofage groups and secret societies. Where an important decision, like the
declaration of war, is to be taken, all free adult males are convoked. (Nwabara, 1977,pp.
22-32; Isichei, 1976, pp. 21-24).
Villages join to form clans, and the assembly of the clan, which can be convoked by
any one of the village heads, is presided over by the clan head (who combines political
and religious powers). Kingship found in places like Aboh and Onitsha arose from
external influence. Women's organisations exist parallel to the male controlled
extended family, village-group and clan political structure; and these could bring their
power to bear on decisions affecting their interest in the society.
The extended family, village-group and clan assemblies are supposed to resolve
disputes brought before it in accordance to the laws of the land (laws normally made by
these assemblies under the supervision of the Earth spirit who sanctions the same).
When there is a division of opinion, or when a party contests the decision of the
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assembly, the judgment of mystical powers is sought through oracles. Many such
centres for consulting oracles exist in lgboland. The most popular ones are the lbini
Ukpabe (alias Chukwu oracle) of Arochukwu (south-east lgbo) and the Agbala of Awka
(north Igbo ).
1.6. External Influences

External influences on lgbo institutions have oftentimes been exaggerated. The Benin
(Edo) kingdom on the west and the Idah (!gala) kingdom in the north had the most
marked influences. Benin influence is easily discernible in the establishment of monar-
chies west of the Niger (e.g., Aboh) and at Onitsha. Igala influence around theNsukka
and Anambra areas is harder to pinpoint, but is noticeable in the speech and certain
aspects of the material culture of these areas. lgbo culture had more or less matured
before the existence of these kingdoms, limiting, thereby, the depth of influence. In the
delta and eastern areas, the Igbo met peoples as segmented as themselves (!jaw and
Ibibio). Influences rest on the level of mutual informal acculturation. For example, the
eastern Igbo have a more developed age-set system and secret societies than the rest of
the lgbo-a practice borrowed probably from their Ibibio neighbours (Afigbo, 1975,
pp. 46-47).
Contact with Europeans, starting from the 16th century, made its mark on the lgbo.
With the development of slave trade, populations of the lgbo (kidnapped, prisoners of
war, sold) were herded down to the delta and exported to the Americas. Were it not for
the high population density, slave raidingwouldhavepermanentlyupset lgbosociety. A
community of Eastern lgbo, the Aro, dominated trade with the hinterland; establishing
a very popular oracle (Ibini Ukpabe), they used it as a means to trap slaves. The Igbo of
the hinterland and the neighbouring ethnic groups (!jaw and lbibio) continued to
frequent this oracle till its destruction (1901-1902). Apart from the depleting of
population through the slave trade and the introduction of European goods, early
contact with Europeans did not alter the fundamental structure of lgbo society.
Missionary evangelism (propagated especially through the school) and the establish-
ment of colonial rule (especially from 1900), together constitute the most important
variables in the evolution of lgbo society. New political structures were forcefully
imposed, and a world view different from the Igbo world view was proclaimed.
The traditional Igbo world view has evolved in the course of years - especially
during and after the pacification ofigboland by British colonial power (1900-1910).
That the substance of this world view persists, and is still influencing in many ways
the course of the evolution of modern lgbo society, is a good argument for its worth
and an evidence of its refusal to be relegated to a vanished past.
Right from the beginning of missionary evangelism in lgboland (1854) to the
period of pacification (1910- ), the lgbo world view has braved the challenge and
attacks of the Western world view (propagated by Christianity through the educa-
tional system completely dominated by missionaries) (Ekechi, 1971; Nwabara,
1977, pp. 60-78), modern medicine, and brute military might. The last factor not
only led to the subjugation ofigbo village-groups, but also to the destruction of very
influential politico-religious institutions (like the Arochukwu oracle, lbini Ukpabe,
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which for the majority of the lgbo and their neighbours constituted the last court of
appeal in litigation -the voice of Chukwu, hence it is called the Chukwu oracle), and
politico-religious associations (like the Ekumeku society among the west Niger
Igbo, which fought colonisers and missionaries) (lsichei, 1976, pp. 131-133; Ekechi,
1971, pp. 171-172). The destabilisation of villages which followed the military
operations constitutes a vital factor in explaining the mass conversions to Christian-
ity from 1900 on (Ekechi, 1971, ch. VIII). Yet more vital for conversions and in
continuity with the Igbo perception of the universe is the conviction among the lgbo
that 'progress' and 'success' rest in change -what Ottenberg describes as 'lgbo
receptivity to change,' and Uchendu calls the passion to 'get up' (Ottenberg, 1959, p.
142; Uchendu, 1965, pp. 34ft). Success and progress were seen to be tied to
education, so one had to go to missionaries who controlled the schools. One
understands the discontentment of missionaries, who saw that people were uninter-
ested in their talk of God, but became alive when they talked about schools (Ekechi,
1971, p. 176). Translated into lgbo language; progress and success, symbols of a
good personal chi, essential not only for maintaining life but also for reaching
fullness of life, are realizable when the existing situation is under control; thus
education and conversion become the means of reestablishing this equilibrium.
Apart from the quest for education, it is probable that there were converts who
perceived the Jewish-Christian (Western) world view as more satisfying than the
traditional lgbo world view. However, the contradictory life of a great number of
lgbo Christians from the earliest times of conversion to the contemporary period
testifies eloquently to the preference or, perhaps, attraction of the traditional world
view in the search for equilibrium. For example, there are cases oflapsed Christians
who go back to traditional religion; and Christians are known to offer divers
traditional sacrifices to secure fecundity, healing, appeasement of malignant spirits,
or to break the pact made with one's dead age-sets who are negatively influencing
one's life. Also very widespread is the practice of keeping or wearing protective
medicines; and it is an open secret that among those who consult diviners/ doctors
today, Christians are in the majority (Shelton, 1965). These practices testify to the
continued search for unity in the world and the insufficiency of a compartmental-
ized Christian/ western world where this unity is lacking.
A very significant indicator of the persistence of the traditional Igbo world view is
the multiplicity of 'Healing Homes' or 'Prayer Houses' among the lgbo (Nwosu,
1971). These are so numerous and spread so rapidly that they have been styled
'mushroom churches' by the traditional Christian churches. These 'Prayer Houses'
reject any return to ancestral religious practice (i.e. to all that is called 'juju'
worship). They make use of the Bible, oftentimes favouring the Old Testament. But
their peculiar interpretation of the biblical world view results from a harmonization
of the traditional lgbo world view with the realities of the present time, by means of
an acceptable religious medium-the biblical 'faith.' The emphasis they lay on
healing through prayer, on illness as a result of the influence of malignant spirits, on
possession by spirits and the capability of specialists to discern these and cast away
malignant ones, on sorcery, on the competency of their experts to put an end to
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impotency and infertility, on community fellowship, and so on, places them solidly
in the lgbo world, where there is commerce between spirits and humans and where
all obstacles to life, its preservation and its full realization have to be removed.
Apart from the subsistence of the lgbo world view in the garb of a foreign view of
the universe, it has to be underlined that the fundamental lgbo insight that life is
absolute and participatory has never been questioned. This is manifest in prayers at
the breaking of the kola-nut in traditional and modern lgbo societies; the priority of
traditional ideas and laws of marriage over any state or Christian laws; the persist-
ence of the law of hospitality; and the importance attached to solidarity of families,
extended families, village-groups, and even the whole lgbo ethnic group (seen in the
Nigerian civil war - 1967-1970). The social benefits accruing from this understand-
ing of life as participation is evident in the formation of 'improvement unions,' by
the lgbo living in cities, for the development and progress of their towns and villages
of origin (Ottenberg, 1955; Uchendu, 1965, pp. 37-38).
This review will be incomplete if we do not underline that a good number of
northern (Nsukka) and west Niger lgbo are still steeped in ancestral religious
practice manifesting, thereby, the virility of the traditional lgbo world view. To this
should be added the importance and popularity of traditional medicine despite the
proliferation of modern medicine and the dominance of traditional psychiatry,
which has proved very effective in reestablishing equilibrium in a modernized world
built on disunity and separation. Finally, in recent times, there has been a marked
cultural revival leading to a revalorization and dissemination of traditional values.
The above remarks help us to see that instead of being stifled by the forces of
modernization, the traditional lgbo world view is still very much alive; and since it is
a world view which favours progress and success in an equilibrated universe, its role
has to be recognized as fundamental for the creation of a healthy and modern lgbo
society.
1.7. The Plan of this Essay

Since the aim of this paper is an examination of what constitutes the core of the lgbo
world view, we shall begin with a brief introduction of terms and persons connected
with lgbo life, then there will follow a more detailed examination of the complex
composition of the human person in the human (lgbo) community, underlining the
identity and importance of persons (beings) who are indispensable in the formation
of the human person.
When is life meaningful among the lgbo? This question is answered by showing
that the maintenance oflife, its continuity and its dynamic progress towards fullness
(spiritualisation, ancestral status, realization of life's project) are fundamental
variables for the lgbo man's understanding of meaning.
2. ULTIMATE REALITY AND MEANING IN THE IGBO WORLD
In their apprehension of ultimate reality and meaning, the lgbo place human life atthe
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centre of their universe. Realities are perceived as ultimate and are consequently
hierarchized insofar as and to the degree that they impinge on the life of the Igbo.
Thus, expressed in a person model, the following realities are ultimate: Chi/ Chukwu
(source of life, giver of destiny), personal chi (personality emanating from Chi/
Chukwu, the immediate carrier and embodiment of the particular individual des-
tiny), ancestors (close to the source of life, they become the immediate givers and
guardians of the life of their community), spirits (favouring or endangering the
continuity of life).
2.1. Fundamental Terms

In speech and action, whether in a ritual or a profane context, LIFE stands out for the
Igbo as a value around which other values find their meaning. Ndubuisi (life is first),
ndukaku (life is greater than wealth) are proper names pregnant with meaning.
Ndu is a noun meaning life, existence, being. The verb di or du means to be, to exist
(to be alive). Though not within the Bantu linguistic group, the term ndu seems to be
related to the Bantu ntu (being).
When the Igbo say ndubuisi 'life is first,' they are not referring to life as a generic
term but to the life of a human person (mmadu); and to be more precise, they are
referring to the life of members of the family, village-group or clan. Though persons
outside one's sphere of social contact (village-group) are regarded as human, yet
relationships have to be defined before other social groups are practically included in
the Igbo valuation of life.
Mmadu (mmadi in some dialects) is the term for human being. Its meaning is
obscure. Since Igbo is a tonal language, two possible variations in tone give two
different meanings - mma 'beauty' du or di 'is or be': beauty is, or let beauty be; mma
'knife' du or di 'is or be': knife is, or let knife be. An Igbo elder, Ezenwideyi, is of the
opinion that the first variation 'let beauty be' is the meaning of mmadu (Arazu, 1966).
When the Igbo say mmadu, they contrast it not with non-living things 'ife' but with
spirits (mmuo ). For example, if one knocks at a door, the normal question from within
is, Obu onye? 'Which person is it?' If there is no reply, the next likely question is, Obu
mmadu ka-obu mmuo? 'Is it a human person or a spirit?' This might indicate how
spirits loom large in the Igbo world.
Mmuo (spirit) is a generic term signifying: persons inhabiting the spirit-land (ances-
tors; known and unknown dead); ancestors in the form of masked persons who return
to visit kith and kin during funerals; non-corporeal local spirits (alusl); the soul of a
human person.
Though living in their world, 'spirit-land' ani-mmuo, spirits are at home in the world
of man- 'land of man' ani-mmadu. These are the two principal distinctions of worlds
in the Igbo universe (uwa). Even if there exists the concept of many worlds (eight,
seven, four) (Henderson, 1972, p. 109), there is only one world of man and the rest are
regarded as the world of the dead (spirits). There is incessant commerce between the
two worlds.
But over and above man, his world and the world of the dead, is the Lord oflife and
destiny variously called Chi, Chukwu, Chineke. Since we shall be considering this Lord
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of life in greater detail, it suffices here to note that Chukwu ( Chi-ukwu) means 'great
Chi,' and Chineke means 'Chi who creates.' Chineke is certainly of later development.
The word might also be a fusion of two different entities, Chi and eke ( Chi-na-eke),
Chi being the source of life, and eke (agu or okuke in some dialects) being one of the
beings who participate in the determination of the identity of each individual human
being. The meaning of Chi is obscure, but his position as source oflife and destiny is
unquestionable. Chi and Chukwu are the most ancient terms denoting this source of
life, though it appears that Chi is the more ancient. In profane usage chi means
daylight, but the lgbo do not recognise any relationship between the two usages.
Because of other uses of Chi, we shall refer to this source of life throughout this study
as Chi/ Chukwu.
Chi/ Chukwu assigns a particular chi to each person coming into the world of man.
The identity of this personal chi and his relationship to Chi/ Chukwu are fundamental
in the understanding of ultimate reality and meaning among the lgbo.
Impinging on the life of human beings are localized objects imbued with spirit at the
creation of the universe by Chi/ Chukwu. Occupying the place of privilege is Ala
(mother Earth); then there are the two very important heavenly bodies (anyanwu-the
sun, and onwa-the moon) which are messengers or 'eyes' of Chi/ Chukwu; they
traverse the sky (igwe) over the land (ala or am) in intersecting paths thereby dividing
the world into four quarters, giving rise to four days of the lgbo week (nkwo, eke, orie,
afo) and the markets (Horton, 1956, p. 18).
Mmadu (human being) is at the centre of this universe (uwa) created by Chi/
Chukwu. The key to the Igbo man's understanding of this universe and its multiple
relations, the key to the core of his hopes and fears as he searches for, follows, or
shapes his destiny is ndu (life): to preserve it, increase it, and realize it to the full.
2.2. Chi/ Chukwu, the personal chi, and the tracing of'life-lines'
2.2.1. The composition of the human person

There are many stages in the composition of the human person. The preliminary siage
is the formation of the physical body (ahu). This is realized by the implantation of the
male 'child seed' ure nwa or 'blood' obala into the female womb akpa nwa through
repeated coitus. But more important than the formation of the physical body, and
perhaps influencing this formation, is the identity of the person who 'returns' in the
child.
The process of returning in a new born is called inyo uwa (returning to the world). In
general it is hoped that the person who returns is a revered ancestor. The method of
divining who comes back is called igba agu (divining the agu). Hence some lgbo call
the returning person agu (or eke, aka, okuke, okike-terms which are all connected
with creation). Certain physical characteristics are sought in the new born to help
confirm the identity of the agu. The time for determining the aguvaries from locality to
locality.
But there are complications in the way the lgbo express the identity of the new born
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in this language of coming back. In some cases malignant spirits might come into
contact with the physical body (ahu) and become incarnate in the new born. They
deceive their parents; for, soon after, they choose to depart (die) and then return again.
Children who come and go in this way are called ogba-nje (repeaters). It happens also
that living elders of the community are said to have returned in the new born. And an
elder could have as many as eight wards (Talbot, 1926, II, p. 286). Non-corporeal
localised spirits (alusl) could also be associated with the new born.
Among the Onitsha Igbo (Henderson, 1972, p. 112), personalities who come into
play in the determination of the new born's identity are multiple: there are ghostly
contributions from the ancestral worlds of the father, the mother, the father's mother,
and the mother's mother, and finally one's ghostly 'comrades' (ndi-otu).So personages
associated with the physical characteristics and potentialities of an lgbo person could
be ancestors respected by the community, venerable living elders, local spirits, one's
dead comrades, and malignant spirits.
In addition to the formation of the physical body and the determination of the
person who has come back in the new born, there exists the third and decisive
factor- the role of the personal chi. Every person (soul) who comes into the world of
man, comes from any of the worlds of spirits. Before getting into contact with the
physical body (ahu) he walks to 'a cross-roads' (aba uzo) where he meets a personal chi
specifically assigned to him by Chi/ Chukwu. He bargains with his personal chi who, in
a pact, defines the broad outlines of the person's (soul's) destiny. He (the soul) enters
the already formed physical body at birth through a creative act of his personal chi, and
. becomes the living infant whose 'life-line' -destiny-has been 'traced on the palm of the
hands' (aka/a aka). it is at this stage of the formation of the individual person that the
lgbo declare that a certain ancestor, elder or spirit has returned (inyo uwa) in the child.
The expression 'inyo uwa' has been interpreted by most authors as 'reincarnation.'
Since the world of spirits is the home of the dead from which all souls come into the
world of man, one could see the justification for calling this returning reincarnation.
This seems to be more so when Henderson describes the process of 'returning' thus:
' ... the ghost enters the body of the infant at birth, becoming the "seeds of heart"
(nkpulu-obi) which provide the motive force underlying life ... ' (Henderson, 1972, p.
110). So for all practical purposes the soul (mmuo, or nkpulu-obi) or the spirit (mmuo)
of the infant is a reincarnation of the soul of the ancestor. But how does one explain the
reincarnation of living elders? And why is the cult of this particular ancestor who was
reincarnated in the infant continued by the father of the child, and later by the
reincarnated person himself? Such an 'ego-latry' is neither verifiable in popular
language nor expressed in ritual prayers accompanying the cult of the personal chi or
the ancestors.
It is more reasonable to see this term 'inyo uwa' as a way of expressing the link
between the individual person and ancestors who have been loved by the community.
Since they have lived a full life in the world of man, they become protectors or patrons
of the newborn, who in tum look up to them (the ancestors) as models in life. When
the agu (the person who returned) is a living human being or a non-corporeal local
spirit, it is the same protection which is sought; though in the case of the living elder, it
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is his own agu who protects the newborn. He assumes his full responsibility when he
becomes an ancestor.
2.2.2. The Identity of the Personal Chi and his relation to Chi/Chukwu
Once the identity of the Igbo person is determined, a personal chi symbol is made and it
becomes an object of cult. This is called nkpulu chi (seed of chz)- a stick cut from the
'life-tree' ogbu. A woman who has set up an independent chi-cult, normally after
having her first issue, plants this tree as a personal chi symbol. In other areas the child's
chi symbol is called okpesi, and could be cut from another life-tree (ogirisi- newbouldia
laevis). This symbol represents both the personal chi and the ancestor who 'returned' in
the new born. Mothers guard the symbols of their daughters while fathers keep their
sons'. These are kept in a container: okwa-chi (vessel of chz) or itechi (pot of chz). A final
object related to the personal chi cult is the Ikenga- a two-horned carved object with a
human face, oftentimes sitting on a stool and holding a machete in its right hand; kept
by adult males who have established an independent cult of chi, it represents a man's
strength and will to success.
Sometimes the person who has come back in an infant (agu) is called chi. However,
the personal chi and the agu are certainly not identical though each plays an important
role in the formation of the individual person.
Various terms have been used by authors to describe this personal chi: over-soul
(Talbot, 1926, II, p. 279), personal genius (Meek, 1937, p. 55), spiritual essence of the
living self (Henderson, 1972, p. 107), transcendental selfor super-ego (Parrinder, 1951,
p. 57). These terms underline the function of the personal chi in relation to the
individual person. In his relation to Chi/ Chukwu, most authors see the personal chi as
an emanation of Chi/ Chukwu.
In their attempt to describe this personality (the personal chi) the Igbo say that he is a
'part' of Chi/Chukwu, a 'child' of Chi/Chukwu a 'creation' of Chi/Chukwu, Chi/
Chukwu himself. The creative action is generally recognised by the Igbo as the
prerogative of Chi/ Chukwu, yet they insist that each particular person is created by
his personal chi. As the saying goes: otu nne na amu ma otuchi adi eke(born of the s.ame
mother but not created by the same chz). This underlines the diversity of the personal
chi. This multiplicity of the personal chi resists his easy identification with Chi/
Chukwu. The personal chi's close relation with Chi/ Chukwu in turn resists his
identification with the individual self. In fact when one dies, his personal chi returns to
Chi/ Chukwu.
There is a unity in complexity in the Igbo world analysed thus far. The bond ofunity
is life. An Igbo shares the life of his family, which life is insured only if it is in continuity
with and radically protected by the spiritualized members of the family (ancestors)
who have lived a full life in the world of man and are closer to the source oflife; this
protection can also be assured by friendly localised non-corporeal spirits or even
venerable living elders. The same Igbo receives an assurance of living a full life in his
world because the ultimate source oflife (Chi/Chukwu) has established for him in a
very intimate and personal way the possibilities of realizing his potentialities to the full
through the gift of a personalized creative destiny (the personal chz) emanating from
Chi/ Chukwu's very person. It seems evident then, that Chi/ Chukwu (as ultimate
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source of life and destiny) gives indisputable stability to the Igbo man in his apprehen-
sion of ultimate reality and meaning.
2.2.3. Identity of Chi/ Chukwu
The personal chi returns to Chi/ Chukwu at the death of his ward. Chi/ Chukwu is
supposed to have a compound. There are some Igbo who claim to know at least two
trees found in that compound (Horton, 1956, p. 21; Henderson, 1972, p. 118): Ofo
(detarium senegalense)- a tree which is sacred to the Igbo. When a piece is consecrated,
it becomes an object of worship, an intermediary at prayer, and above all the highest
symbol of honesty and truthfulness; politically it is used to assert parental authority
and to determine hierarchy in an extended family, village-group or clan. Another tree
is Oji (kola acuminata). Nuts of the kola (containing two or more lobes) are used in
prayer to commune with Chi/ Chukwu and the spirits; it is a symbol of hospitality, and
it comes in as a factor in kinship differentiation and determining social status.
The location of Chi/ Chukwu's compound is not known. Some say that it is in the
sun, somewhere outside the earth and heaven. Most people would affirm that nobody
knows where this compound is, though sacrificial victims are shown to the sun when
offered to Chi/ Chukwu. As the elder/ priest of my village told me, 'Chukwu receives
the offering through the sun since nobody knows where Chukwu is.' Some Igbo go as
far as identifying the sun (Anyanwu) with Chi/ Chukwu (Ezeanya, 1969, p. 37), but the
majority of the Igbo assert that Anyanwu is the son, messenger or eye of Chi/ Chukwu.
The Igbo like most W. African peoples do not have a written tradition. The
experience of the reality which makes the universe tick, thereby providing life for each
Igbo community and individual, can only be expressed through the channels of oral
tradition: myth, proverbs, folktales, prayers, names etc.
Names given to Igbo children are always very significant. Often one finds names
which express a particular experience of a dimension of Chi/ Chukwu's goodness:
Okechukwu (Chukwu's creation), Chukwuka ( Chukwu is supreme), Chinwendu (Chi is
owner of life), Chinyelu (gift from Chi), Chinedu (Chi is the leader)-all expressing
Chi/ Chukwu's creative power and benevolence.
But more interesting are the names the Igbo give to Chi/ Chukwu. These form a sort
of treasure house of Igbo experience of this source of life. They are names used in
invocations and prayers. We give a few examples: Chineke (Chi who creates), Chi-
ukwu-okike (great Chi the creator), Chin' elu or Obasi din' elu (Chi or Obasi on high),
0/isa-ebulu uwa (the divinity, Olisa, who supports the world), Chi n'uwa or simply Uwa
(the Chi of the world, or the Universe itself), Chukwu oke abiama (Chukwu the maker
of everything), Eze Chukwu Okike or Ezechitoke (Chukwu or Chi the king/lord, the
creator), Eze Anyanwu (Lord or king of the Sun). These names underline the creative
aspect of Chi/ Chukwu. Other qualities come out in the following names: Onye
ogholoho anya (the man or person of huge eyes-emphasis on the capability of
Chukwu to see everything, normally the sun is his eye),Ejelue (the ultimate goal), Onye
okwu biri n'onu ya (final arbiter; lit. the person in whose mouth word ends), Onye ana
ekpelu (he to whom everyone prays), atu aka oru mba (he who gathers millions/ coun-
tries with one hand), Eze bi n'igwe ogodo ya n'akpu n'ala (the king who lives in heaven
whose loin cloth falls and rolls on the ground). These and other names show that
Chi/ Chukwu is a personal being present in the world of the community.
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Chi/ Chukwu is thus perceived as that source of life which creates the universe (the
world of man and the world of the dead) and whose presence is manifest among men,
making it possible for man to realize his destiny. The universe is not a part of
Chi/ Chukwu but a creation of Chi/ Chukwu. Its purpose is intimately linked with
man's origin and man's realization of his life's project. Attaching immense importance
to the world of the dead (which represents a stable and accomplished [past?] time, and
which in turn becomes the ideal of future hope) from where ancestors come and go
influencing the world of man (which represents the present and future imperfect time,
the theatre for the realization of one's destiny), the lgbo do not really concern
themselves about when the universe began, and there is certainly no indication that it
will end. What concerns the lgbo is the presence of Chi/ Chukwu as the source of!ife
and the dynamic maintenance of all the multiple relations so that life's project may be
fully realized.
2.3. Maintaining and Augmenting Life in the lgbo World

That life is ultimately meaningful which is a realization of the 'life-lines' (destiny)
carved for each Igbo in the community. To arrive at this fullness, dynamic relationship
has to be maintained with all the realities which ultimately concern life; and one can
always avail oneself of the services of specialists to assure optimal realization of one's
life project.
Those Igbo, however, who die young and childless, or who die of incurable diseases,
are excluded from the full realization of meaningful life. Since classical reincarnation
does not exist among the lgbo, they are not given a second chance and could be
condemned to a life of restlessness. Today, however, modern medicine can control and
explain many diseases which in the past were incurable and unnamed, and so the lgbo
interpretation of death from these diseases as signs of divine retribution or machina-
tions of evil men and spirits is relativised. In general the lgbo have no adequate
mechanisms for arresting or explaining infant mortality, accidental deaths, deaths
from unknown diseases, and so on; consequently, the lot reserved to people who die
under these conditions is also uncertain.
The lgbo universe (uwa) containing the world of man (ani-mmadu, land of man) and
the world of spirits (ani-mmuo, spirit-land) is created by Chi/ Chukwu: a universe
marked by harmony and unity; the theatre where life's destiny is realized to the full in
dynamic relationship -participation and communion; a universe which will always be
there and fulfil its function. This universe is not a lifeless, indifferent mass, but a
personalized active collaborator in the maintenance and increase of human life - a
personalization symbolized in the spiritualisation of certain objects created by Chi/
Chukwu in the world of man (land, sun, moon, etc). This is a universe which does not
seem to know any dualism. There is no indication that any part of this universe is
evil - only evil men and evil spirits could pollute a section of this universe, demand-
ing, thereby, ritual purification to reestablish equilibrium. Morality is understood as
essentially tied to the way one maintains or does not maintain the complexity of
relations in the universe which favour the continuity, augmentation, and full realiza-
tion of life.
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2.3.1. Invocations, Prayers, Sacrifices and Maintaining Life
The Igbo elder begins his day with the morning prayer (igo ofo: lit. praying a/a-pray-
ing by the intermediary of ofo). The centre of his prayer is life: thanksgiving to Chi/
Chukwu, ancestors and the spirits for having preserved his life, the life of his family,
clan etc; petition for the ongoing provision of the necessities for maintaining and
increasing life; disavowal of having mediated on or attempted the destruction of
his neighbour's life or anything fundamental to the continuity and increase of the
said life; malediction directed against those who threaten his life or the life of his
family, e.g.:
Protect me and my household

From evil men and Spirits;
I wish no man evil,
But if any one says I have lived too long,
Let him go before me to see
What it is like in the land of the dead; ... (Egudu and Nwoga, 1971, p. 55)
Finally the prayer is concluded with a saying: 'Let the kite perch, let the eagle perch,
the one who says that the other will not perch, let his wing break.' Participants lend
their voices of affirmation to the intentions of the prayer by the cry of agreement,
Iha-a! The kola-nut, symbol of life and commensality, which is never omitted in the
morning cult, is broken. The part of the spirits (the radix) is given to them, and those
present share the rest.
Invocations and prayer are the most common religious activities for establishing a
dynamic link with the source of life, ancestors and spirits - beings that ultimately
concern the Igbo community because they ultimately concern the life of the
community.
In addition, there are sacrifices which could be circumstantial (following a happy
event, or necessitated by misfortune) and.sacrifices coming at fixed times in the year.
An Igbo who receives the gift of a child from his personal chi never forgets to make a
thanksgiving sacrifice; the same goes for favours received from ancestors or localised
non-corporeal spirits. A person who suffers a misfortune should propitiate the malig-
nant spirits responsible for the misfortune and invoke the aid offriendly and powerful
spirits through a sacrifice. Sacrifices at fixed times of the year normally come at
planting and harvest seasons. These intensify prayers of petition in view of successful
planting and project gratitude for the supply of food received. These sacrifices and
prayers show us that the Igbo consider the union or communion with Chi/ Chukwu,
the personal chi, ancestors and spirits as absolutely vital in their universe-without
these, life can neither be maintained nor augmented.
It is then evident that prayers, invocations and sacrifices are not incidental to the
Igbo concept of ultimate reality and meaning. Rather they portray in clear terms that
life dynamically lived in the community and moving towards fullness is essentially
participatory (coming from multiple sources which have to be ritually recognised, the
ultimate source being Chi/ Chukwu), and that the road to its full realization is
communion.
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2.3.2. Life Endangered
The absoluteness of maintaining excellent relations with all the personalities who
come into vital contact with man in his world becomes evident when this relationship
is upset by human offense - especially by offenses classified as abomination (alu). The
reaction of the Igbo in face of this danger brings out an important nuance in his
perception of his universe: the objectives of life (its maintenance and augmentation)
can only be achieved if equilibrium is maintained in the universe. Anything which

endangers this equilibrium in a vital way is morally wrong, and could be morally
abominable if it is nso ala (forbidden by the land, or touching the sacredness of the
land) or alu (abomination).
Ala (the earth spirit) is the recognised moral agent among the Igbo. The land
provides settlement and nourishment to the sedentary agricultural Igbo, and the land
provides the vital burial space for the ancestors on the way to the spirit land. It is not
surprising then that all over Igboland the earth is an object imbued with spirit by
Chi/ Chukwu and is the head of the other spirits. The constitution of each village
group is linked to Ala, so also are all families linked to this spirit. All laws, from the
simple iwu (rules) to the odinani (what happens in the land; vital laws and customs of
the land), are established in the presence of Ala, who sanctions the same. The
forbidden things or abominations threaten life, the vital relations which maintain
life, or material things vital for the maintenance of life. For example, homicide
(wilful or accidental), wilful abortion, incest, adultery, stealing yams, etc. These
criminal acts upset the equilibrium of human relations, and thereby endanger the
realization of life's project for the whole community or for a part of it. Adultery,
for example, upsets the life of the family, while homicide puts the whole village-
group in danger.
Ala ~urns with anger at these crimes. Her anger has to be calmed by sacrifices
offered at her shrine to 'remove abomination' (ikpu alu). Expiating crimes like homi-
cide often necessitates the presence ofNri priests (from the north-Igbo village-group
which enjoys a special relationship with Ala). This sacrifice reestablishes harmony in
the community, revitalizes the link between the community and Ala, between the
community and ancestors who collaborate intimately with Ala to guard the laws of the
land, and between the community and Chi/ Chukwu, since certain crimes attack this
source of life, who could directly punish the criminal (especially through Amadio-
ha-the spirit of thunder). But normally Chi/ Chukwu leaves the domain of morality in
the hands of the moral agent, Ala. The awareness of disharmony in the society and the
knowledge of the negative consequences coming therefrom, account for the custom
among various village-groups of terminating each year with a community sacrifice of
expiation for individual and collective offenses.
2.3.3. The Role of Specialists in Maintaining Life

Among the Igbo, a specialist is one who has a privileged relationship with Chi/
Chukwu, ancestors and spirits. In general all heads of families who have performed
the mortuary rites of their forebears enjoy a special relationship with their fathers (ndi
nna, ndi ichie- ancestors). The same close relationship is enjoyed with regard to
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ancestors of clans and village-groups by the heads of these units. They mediate with
ancestors in favour of the community in family, village-group or clan cult. Chi/
Chukwu has no special priests; any adult male is qualified to offer sacrifice to
him -this is especially so when a diviner counsels an individual to offer the sacrifice
called Aja-Eze-enu (sacrifice to the King on high). Each person has easy access to his
personal chi; but independent cult is limited to adults (male and female), and this
normally begins when one has had the first child.

All local spirits have their priests (eze alusi-king at the service of a particular
divinity). The prestige of a priest depends on the power of the local spirit as it is borne
out in experience. The most powerful priests are the priests of Ala (eze ala-king at the
service of Ala). They perform all the rites to remove abomination on family, village-
group and clan levels. Superior to them are the itinerant priests from Nri (the priestly
village-group) who take responsibility for the rites of purifying the most heinous
crimes like murder. Presiding over this priestly village-group is a priest-king (Eze
Nri-king of Nri), a human who has been completely spiritualized-his initiation
includes seclusion, symbolic death and burial, resurrection from the dead, symbolic
recreation of the world, and so on (Thomas, 1913-14, pp. 48-56;Jeffreys, 1935; 1936).
These priests of Ala are absolutely indispensable for the realization of the end of Igbo
life - maintenance and increase of life. When the land is polluted and the burning
anger of Ala is not assuaged, life is in jeopardy and moving dangerously towards the
precipice of meaninglessness.
Not less important for the realization of!gbo objectives in life are diviners/ doctors
(dibia). Possessed by the spirit of divination (Agwu) the individual has little choice but
to follow the rigours of initiation. It is to diviners that the lgbo go to find out the
person who has come back in a newborn, and to resolve any uncanny problem.
Though a certain scepticism exists regarding judgments of diviners (this reaches
outright rejection when judgment goes contrary to popular opinion), yet the Igbo have
faith in the power of the diviner to communicate with the spiritual world. Their task
includes the determination of which malignant spirit is interfering with a person's
'life-line' (destiny), which good spirits have been offended by a person suffering from
interminable misfortunes, and which sacrifices are necessary to reestablish equili-
brium and ensure progress in life. They also produce protective medicines which
counteract the machinations of evil men and spirits. Their role is not insignificant to
the Igbo apprehension of ultimate reality and meaning.
2.4. The Making of an Ancestor: the Finality of lgbo Apprehension of Ultimate Reality
and Meaning
Placed at the centre of his universe, the Igbo man sees life as an absolute value. Persons
and objects impinging on this universe are adverted to in accordance with their
relation to man's life, e.g. the source of life ( Chi/ Chukwu), and so on. When sacrifices,
prayers and invocations are directed towards these personalities or when communion
is sought with them, it is in acknowledgment of their role, and shows an awareness that
without them the life which is received as participation, instead of flowering and
reaching fullness, would wither and disappear.
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The lgbo have a yardstick for judging whether this life is flowering and moving
towards fullness -in the following order: long life, progeny, and material wealth to
maintain life. This is summarized in the expression: enwelu m chi-oma 'I have a good
personal chi' or Ikenga m kwu oto 'My Ikenga-symbol of a man's personal chi-is
straight'.
2.4.1. Long Life and Progeny

Long life and progeny are the most important symbols of a good personal chi. If one
has all the wealth in the world and does not live long nor have children, he is classified
as having a bad personal chi. Igbo names are testimonies to this, e.g.,Ndukaku (life is
greater than wealth), Nwakaego (child is greater than money), Nwabuisi (child is
principal). This emphasis on long life and progeny fits logically with the lgbo percep-
tion of the universe and the finality of life. The finality of life is spiritualization
(fullness of life). One is completely spiritualized when one becomes an ancestor. A
childless man might have lived a good life (one of the conditions for being an
ancestor), might be rich, but he does not have a child to perform the mortuary rites
necessary for his induction into the land of ancestors. This means that those who die
untimely deaths (i.e. before getting children)- normally as a result of the machinations
of evil men and evil spirits or through the anger of Ala- and those who live long and
yet are childless, never arrive at the fullness of life (ancestorhood). They are limited to
an inferior status in the world of the dead and could become wandering, unhappy
(evil) spirits that have to be avoided. Their lot could be similar to those of wicked men
who die of incurable diseases (a manifestation of divine retribution) and are thrown
unceremoniously into the 'bad bush' (ajo ohia), or to those wicked ones banished to
that world graphically described as 'ama ndi mmuo ama ndi mmadu' (non-spirit
non-human world).
2.4.2. Wealth
Though long life and progeny are more valuable than wealth, yet a dead person who
was not rich might have to remain 'outside' for a long time before being brought
'inside' by his children. One staying outside is a wandering spirit, and one who is inside
has been brought in (into fullness of!ife) by the induction ceremony (ikwa ozu)-the
final mortuary rite making one an ancestor.
When one dies among the lgbo, one is buried as quickly as possible. The ceremonial
induction into the spirit-land as ancestor takes place when one's children are ready to
undertake the huge financial expense. This ceremony consists of making the person's
likeness and burying it, offering sacrifices to ancestors to receive the dead man into the
spirit-land, offering sacrifices to Ala, to the person's personal chi, and to other minor
spirits; and finally offering the sacrifice for the breaking of the person's personal chi
symbol (Ikenga, for a man; ogbu chi, for a woman) (Basden, 1938, pp. 289-294;
Ezekwugo, 1973, pp. 285-289). At the completion of these rites, one's representation
(okpesz) is carved by one's progeny, and this materializes the spiritualized parent who
receives libations and sacrifices of communion, and who could return as patron (agu)
of newborn members of the family.
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2.4.3. Future Life among the Igbo
Because of the misinterpretation of 'inyo uwa' (returning to the world) as reincarna-
tion, some authors claim that the Igbo have very little idea of a future life (Thomas,
1913-14, p. 32). The lgbo do have clear ideas about life after death. This life is
patterned on life in the world of man- but a life where statuses are retained in a stable
way. One could say that it is a life where collective and individual hopes are realized to
the full. A person who dies a death willed by his personal chi (onwu-chz), who has
fulfilled his predestined course in the world of man, is said to have gone back to the
home of his personal chi- a way of describing a fullness of communion with the
personal chi. Life after death is a life in which all the complex relations characteristic of
life in the world of man are retained: continued interest in the affairs of one's progeny
as long as one's compound is not 'closed' (illuminating here is the Igbo curse 'ama nna
gi chie': let your father's compound or the road leading to your father's compound be
closed - which means a complete obliteration of the memory of the family); collabora-
tion with Ala (the earth spirit, guardian of the land of the living and the dead) in
maintaining the laws of the land (odinam); collaboration with Chi/ Chukwu and the
personal chi in the creative process, by playing the role of patrons (agu) and guardians
of newborn members of the community. It is a life lived most intensely because one is
close to and a collaborator with the source of life.
2.5. When is Life Meaningful among the lgbo?, and Why?

Our analysis of the Igbo world shows that the determination of one's destiny, in which
the source of life and giver of destinies (Chi/ Chukwu), the personalized creative
destiny emanating from the creator (personal chi), the individual soul of a man in the
process of being born (created) into the world and who is intimately bound to his
family or lineage (represented by loved ancestors and spirits of the lineage) are acting
in concert, marks the fundamental step in becoming an Igbo man.
It is when this given and chosen destiny is successfully worked out in concrete life by
the Igbo (in dynamic collaboration with his lineage and the spiritual world) and is seen
to realize that ideal of life recognized as success and achievement (long life and
progeny, wealth, ancestral status), that one could say that life is ideally meaningful
(ultimate meaning). One who reaches this stage is said to have a good personal chi (his
personalized creative destiny emanating from Chi/ Chukwu has been shown to be
good; the individual has made a good choice; he is lucky).
But the passion with which, individually and collectively, the Igbo dedicate them-
selves to succeed and achieve life's project, coupled with the recognition by the
community that all doors should be left open to realize this life's project, has converted
success and achievement into ultimates (Uchendu, 1965). What is perceived as giving
full definitive meaning-to life-attainable fully and definitively only after the required
mortuary rites -is, in a real sense, being tasted and prepared for in the. struggle to
succeed: the individual struggles to have children, wives, wealth, titles - always in
solidarity with the human and spiritual community; the collectivity striving to
improve, develop, change the village-group (in solidarity with friendly communites
and the spiritual world), creating thus maximum latitude for the attainment of life's
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project. Since ideally no individual or community wants to be left lagging behind, life
is highly competitive.
Since definitive meaning thus includes the end in itself (ancestral status), the
dynamic process to achieve this end, and the achievement in itself, one should ask why
these variables give meaning to the lgbo in their perception of the universe.
Uchendu in his anthropological study of the lgbo underlined that among the Igbo
'cosmological ideas express the basic notions underlying cultural activities and define
cultural goals and social relations' (Uchendu, 1965, p. 11). For him lgbo cosmology is
'an explanatory device' which 'theorizes about the origin and character of the uni-
verse'; it is 'a guide to conduct' or a 'system of prescriptive ethics, which defines what
the lgbo ought to do and what they ought to avoid'; and finally, it is 'an action system,
which reveals what the lgbo actually do as manifested in their overt and covert
behavior' (Uchendu, 1965, p. 11). The root of the final factor (action system), the root
of the dynamism in lgbo culture is, he claims, the 'reincarnation dogma' (Uchendu,
1965, pp. 19, 16, 20, 102, 103, etc).
That lgbo creation myths (origin of the universe, land, village-group, agriculture,
etc) influence moral codes and behaviour is unquestionable. But that the dynamic
factors in this culture are based on a reincarnation ideology is unacceptable to this
author.
It is true that an unsuccessful Igbo would wistfully say uwa ozo rn'ga anyo, aga m
abu ... 'When next I return to the world, I shall be .. .'; that one could be taunted,
rebuked, cursed by 1/odigh (Inyodigh) uwa na mmadu 'You shall not return to the world
as a human person' or by agba-a gi agu mmadu onyoro gi? 'If divination is made on
your account, could a human being be seen to return in you?' But this way of speaking
has to be interpreted in the context of the fundamental bearers oflgbo cosmology- es-
pecially myth and ritual. Rituals which testify that cult is continually directed to the
returned ancestor by the supposedly returned ancestor, and that more than four
personalities can merge and return in one individual, and that a living elder or an
ancestor can return in many newborn, etc, cast doubt on the link established in
popular language between returning and reincarnation. Inyo uwa certainly indicates a
fundamental link with one's lineage, an emulation of family or lineage ancestors, and
the guardianship and protection accorded to the newborn by the former.
It is not the wistful 'when next I return to the world' of one who is experiencing
difficulty (which wish or prediction is alleged to be contained in one of the two parcels
from which, during reincarnation, the soul would make his choice before the creator,
Uchendu, 1965, p. 16) that is dominant in the concrete world of the lgbo, but success
and striving for success (status). What dominates thinking, as is demonstrated in
mortuary rites, is the continuity between one's status here and one's status hereafter.
The living act out ritually for the dead the role he played in the world of man -war
dance for a warrior, hunting ritual for the hunter, title ceremony for a titled person,
and even a grand escapade for a known burglar. As the saying goes ife onye na eme na
ejere ya uno onwu 'What a person does comes to his funeral' (Arazu, 1975).
If one could hazard the suggestion of an ideology which underprops the dynamism
in lgbo culture (important for the understanding of meaning in life), one should rather
206
propose a 'personal chi ideology' - a factor in lgbo cosmology surprisingly not treated
by Uchendu (mentioned only on p. 16). Myth, folklore and ritual could be invoked to
support this hypothesis.
The identity of the personal chi, his role in the creation (birth) of his ward and the
cult directed to him have already been treated. What should be emphasized now is the
attribution of success or failure to the personal chi. Enwelu m chi-oma or Enwelu m
chi-ojoo are popular ways of saying 'I am lucky' or 'I am unlucky'; but they are also
ways of expressing gratitude to one's personal chi or questioning, in frustration, one's
personal chi. Ritually the lucky man offers thanksgiving sacrifice, and the unlucky man
goes to a diviner and subsequently offers sacrifice to placate offended spirits. How-
ever, in the same breath, the lgbo underline the fundamental independence of the
individual in his quest for success (meaning) in life: the lgbo are not fatalists- onye kwe
chi ya ekwe 'If one says "yes," his chi says "yes"'. In the myth of the pre-entry period,
the soul met at a cross-roads with his personal chi and bargained for (or made an active
choice of) his life-line (destiny). This character of struggle and bargaining is material-
ized in concrete living in the world of man (the world is a marketplace - and the
bargaining characteristic of the marketplace has given a contractual overtone to
relations with most spirits) (Uchendu, 1965, pp. 95, IOI). A person who shirks his
responsibility (refusing to say 'yes' to life) claiming that his chi is evil merits the rebuke
of the Igbo as is shown in this angry come back of the senior elder ofUmu Mkpume,
Nsukka, at a young delinquent: 'You are evil! The fore-father of chi is someone
else ... and your chi will not do things to your forefathers. You did the evil thing'
(Shelton, 1971, p. 89).
Emphasizing in an almost limitless way the independent capability of an individual
to say 'yes' to life, the lgbo again stress, without equivocation, that a man can never be
greater than his chi. A person who is drunk with success and ignores the limits set by
tradition is likened to nza lijuelu afo kwe chi ya mgba (the tiny bird 'nza' -wren -who
after overfeeding invited his personal chi to a wrestling match). And Igbo folklore
recounts how the legendary Ajadili, renowned for his wrestling prowess (throwing
humans and spirits) dared to wrestle with his chi. The unfortunate fate he met awaits
those who do not recognize the ultimate source of their success in life.
It appears highly defensible to this author that the lgbo idea of the personal chi to
whom every individual lgbo is dialectically related (dependence-independence), which
dialectics is ideally resolved in intimate collaboration (recognition of the primal
position of the personal chi and the personal chi providing the substratum for the
individual's realization of his destiny), and which dialectical relationship is repro-
duced in the multiple relations in the human world and in the relationship between
humans and spirits, constitutes the root for the perception of both the process and the
dynamic realization of life's project as conjoining to represent ultimate meaning for
the Igbo.
The lgbo world view is optimistic. Life is at the centre because it is a fundamental
given (coming from its ultimate source-Chi/Chukwu). Its appropriation and full
realization is a gift (coming from multiple hierarchized sources and thus funda-
mentally participatory; recognition of this participation generates collaboration or
207
communion), but also choice (the individual is not passive but must be alert to all the
dynamic possibilities for achieving his and the community's destiny).
The Igbo teach us that life has to be placed above any other value; but also that that
life is valuable which is taken (received) actively (aggressively)-the individual and the
collectivity receiving, praying for and demanding the active collaboration (condes-
cendence) of the spiritual world. When all humans and spirits are acting in unison in
the lgbo universe, an interpenetration of causes (interests) results: the cause of the
individual (life, desire and pursuit of status, etc) fuses with and is determined by the
cause of the collectivity (the continuity, protection and improvement of the life of the
family, lineage, village-group), which is radically dependent on and is moving towards
the type oflife of its spiritual originators (who, in being ritually recognized, have their
cause linked to that of the individual and collectivity).
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209

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1.2.1.5.

E. Elochukwu Uzukwu, Grand Seminaire Regional, Brazzaville, Rép. Pop. du Congo

I. I. Location, Physical Environment and Demography

1.3. Origin and History

1.4. Agriculture, Iron Technology, Commerce

1.6. External Influences

1.7. The Plan of this Essay

2. ULTIMATE REALITY AND MEANING IN THE IGBO WORLD

2.1. Fundamental Terms

2.2.1. The composition of the human person

2.3. Maintaining and Augmenting Life in the lgbo World

Protect me and my household

can only be achieved if equilibrium is maintained in the universe. Anything which

2.3.3. The Role of Specialists in Maintaining Life

normally begins when one has had the first child.

2.4.1. Long Life and Progeny

2.5. When is Life Meaningful among the lgbo?, and Why?

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