The Igbo Spiritual Worldview and the Concept of a Supreme God: A Critical discourse

 EXTRACT:

Since the advent of Christianity in Igbo land, a host of names have been used as either a direct translation or transliteration of what the indigenes were presented with as God. Cheching these names, topmost among them is Chineke but following the Igbo cosmology one will come to believe that neither Chineke nor Chukwu comes close to the the Christian concept of God hence an urgent need for a new search for a name for the Christian God in Igbo language. Follow us as we go through this presenting reasons for our position.

CHINEKE IN IGBO SPIRITUALISM:

The Igbo word Chineke came to be as a combination of two divine forces in Igbo spiritual world. These entities are CHI and EKE. In Igbo cosmology, CHI is the life force and the reincarnating force of a human being. Each person in Igbo land has his own personal CHI. The Chi is the person who reincarnated in a human being. The Igbos believe that each has reincarnated several times and in each of the reincarnation pays a karmic debt acquired in the previous world. It is believed that this CHI is the one who guides the soul on his earthly sojourn. Hence, it is said that " ofu nne na amu ma ofu chi adighi EKE. This means that a mother gives birth to people with different Chi.

EKE : Each CHI comes to a person with two things namely, EKE and IKENGA. The EKE is the Creating force of an individual. It is the EKE of a person that his CHI uses to mould him or her to the person that he is. The EKE is the fashioning spirit of the Chi of a person. Hence when one is offended by another, if he does not want to take actions of revenge he simply says that the offender should be left to his Chi and EKE. This means that the Chi is different from the EKE.

IKENGA:  In Igbo ethno-philosophy the Ikenga is possessed mainly by men not women. The Ikenga is the bargaining force of an individual. The Ikenga is there to make sure that the individual is successful in his life purpose on earth. 

The problem with the Igbo word Chineke is that with the advent of Christianity, the  converts  combined two igbo life forces CHI and EKE to form the word Chineke to be the closest explanation of what they were presented as the English God. In the true essence of the word there is nothing like the Christian God in the Igbo Consciousness and philosophy.

Othe names used for the Christian God are Chukwu. Olisabuluwa or Osebruwa.

Chukwu: Chukwu is a deity in some parts of Igbo land. There is a shrine of Chukwu Okike Abiama in Arochukwu. There is also an Ihuchukwu shrine in Okigwe near the Abia state University. There is also a shrine of NneChukwu in Enugu State. The deity Chukwu is a deity of justice where people go to seek justice. This deity was bastardised and barnalised during the slave trade because those in charge of this deity used it mostly to Influence slave trade during the colonial period. The omenuko saga happened with the help of this deity due mainly to the fact that offenders were kept as property of the deity and consequently sold to the white men during the  colonial Era. The Ihuchukwu deity in Okigwe translated in English as the face of  chukwu was a deity which people went to then and even till today despite the influx and proliferation of Christian groups for solution to their different problems. The NneChukwu shrine in Enugu state translated as the mother of Chukwu stands to settle disputes proffering solutions to myriads of problems. The question then is; How can a deity which has a face in another place and a mother be called the Christian God knowing the true identity of the Christian God. The Christian God has no mother nor face hence he is pure spirit. This means that the word Chukwu does not suffice whether as a translation or transliteration.

Olisabuluwa is a deity in Igbo philosophy whicb   carrives the world on its shoulders hence the name. It did not create the world  but is simply assigned by the deities to carry the world.

Other deities which may come close to the Christian concept of God but are not God include. IGWE, ALA, KAMALU, MMIRI and IKUKU.

The Igwe is the sky hence worshiped as the sky deity. It is in charge the thunder, sun, moon and stars. It is said to be greater than the earth deity which is Ala and responsible for the well-being of men. The Ala is a female deity while Igwe is a male deity. IKUKU translated as air is responsible for the life of the individual just as MMIRI is responsible for the growth and success of the individual.

CONCLUSION: In all truthfulness, there is nothing like the concept of God or one God or a Supreme God. There are deities and each performs his or her own specific work in the the organogram of the world and the life of the individual. This  all for further research as there is an urgent need for the Igbo Christian to look for a suitable name for his God.