Download Eze Mmuo(king Of The Spirits)

My grandfather told me all about them when I was only a boy. I remember sitting on his lap in the cool shade of the gazebo while he spoke of each of them like they were old friends of his. The beautiful water spirit, Ojionu; the tall, graceful, deadly seductress. The fiery, youthful and wild Odogwu, with his bloodshot eyes and loud voice. And my personal favourite, Agaba, the warrior, strong, handsome and fearless; the envy of all other male spirits. Grandpa told stories of the spirit kingdom, how they lived as we live. Their disputes, their love affairs, all of it. I was fascinated by these stories and in time I knew most of them by heart.

Two nights later they came for me, without warning. The spirits cloaked in the garb of masquerades with the Ogene drummers and Oja (flute) players. My grandfather woke me up and brought me to them. The song was contagious, without even thinking I joined them, legs moving with the beat of the Ogene & heart racing to the sweet sounds of the Oja. We all moved to the sound of the song and the procession went from house to house till all those to be initiated were gathered. Thirteen stary-eyed boys, confused but excited, waiting for a chance to become men.

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Lesser spirits known as gbr or rs operate below the other gods and higher spirits. These lesser spirits represent natural forces; agbara as a divine force manifests as separate ars in the Igbo pantheon. A concept of 'the eye of sun or God' (Anyanwu, Igbo: ny nw) exists as a masculine and feminine solar deity which forms a part of the solar veneration among the Nri-Igbo in northern Igboland. Ars are mediated by Dibia and other priests who do not contact the high god directly. Through f, 'divination', the laws and demands of the ars are communicated to the living. Ars are venerated in community shrines around roadsides and forests while smaller shrines are located in the household for ancestor veneration. Deceased ancestors live in the spirit world where they can be contacted. Below the ars are minor and more general spirits known as mm loosely defined by their perceived malevolent or benign natures. These minor spirits are not venerated and are sometimes considered the lost souls of the dead. Ancestor worship and the worship of various gods and spirits, form the main component of the traditional Igbo religion, standing in contrast with Abrahamic religions.[5]

dnala could loosely be described as a polytheistic and panentheistic faith with a strong central spiritual force at its head from which all things are believed to spring; however, the contextual diversity of the system may encompass various theistic perspectives that derive from a variety of beliefs held within the religion.[12][14][15][16][17][note 1] Chukwu as the central deity is classed among the ndi mmuo, 'invisible beings', an ontological category of beings which includes Ala the divine feminine earth force, chi the 'personal deity', ndichie the ancestors, and mmuo the minor spirits. The other ontological category consists of ndi mmadu, 'visible beings', which include n animals, ss plants, and the final class r which consists of elements, minerals and inanimate beings.[18] While various gods, the spirit class of Arusi, and ancestors are worshiped and prayed to; no sacrifices are given to Chukwu and no shrines and altars are erected for it.[18] If an Arusi is assigned to an individual, it becomes a chi, a personal guardian god/spirit.[19]

Complex animism builds the core concept of most traditional African religions, including Odinala, this includes the worship of tutelary deities, nature worship, ancestor worship and the belief in an afterlife. While some religions adopted a pantheistic worldview, most follow a polytheistic system with various gods, spirits and other supernatural beings.[20] Traditional African religions also have elements of fetishism, shamanism and veneration of relics.[21]

Nigerian American professor of indigenous African religions at Harvard University, Jacob Olupona summarized the many traditional African religions as complex animistic religious traditions and beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic "colonization" of Africa. Ancestor veneration has always played a "significant" part in the traditional African cultures and may be considered as central to the African worldview. Ancestors (ancestral ghosts/spirits) are an integral part of reality. The ancestors are generally believed to reside in an ancestral realm (spiritworld), while some believe that the ancestors became equal in power to deities.[22].mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}

Chukwuemeka Mbaegbu from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria, describes the Igbo religion's system as "Monopolytheism", referring to the belief in many distinct gods and spirits, but with one distant and unpersonalized supreme force, which resulted in the creation of everything, but is not a god per definition.[3]

The Cosmos itself is divided into "four constituent complexes" known as Okike, Alusi, Mmuo, and Uwa. Okike is the event of "Creation", the Alusi are the lesser deities, Mm are the spirits of the Ancestors and all other beings, and Uwa is the World.[36]

The Igbo traditionally believe in an afterlife in the spirit world or dimension, where the deceased ancestors exist, and may influence the material world and their descendants. Ancestors are protectors and guardians of ones lineage, close friends and heritage, and may become to higher spirits (semi-gods), as in the case of many other traditional religions of the world.[40] Sometimes however, ancestors may reincarnate into families that they were part of while alive.[41] This is called il-uwa. Reincarnation is seldom, but may happen occasionally, if a deceased person can not enter the spirit world for various reasons, or may be absorbed into a new-born if it would die immediately after birth.[42] Unlike in Hinduism, humans can only be reincarnated as humans.[41] Families hire fortune-tellers to reveal if the child harbours the soul or an aspect of an ancestor; the baby is sometimes named after this relative.[41] The personality of the ancestor is not identical to the child's but rather the concept establishes a vital relationship with the child and characteristics of the ancestor.[43] Other signs can be certain behaviors, physical traits, and statements by the child. A diviner can help in detecting if the child has reincarnated from an ancestor and may identify this ancestor. It is considered an insult if a male is said to have been reincarnated as a female.[44] An ancestor (or aspects of the ancestor) may be reincarnated in multiple people, in which case the reincarnations share a mortal bond; upon the death of one person, it is believed that the others may die a sudden death if they see the corpse.[40]

The Arusi, who are also known as the Arushi, Anusi or Alusi by dialects (see Orisha, the Yoruba cognate), all spring from Ala the Earth goddess and Goddess of Fertility, who embodies the workings of the World. They are lesser deities in Odinani, each of whom are responsible for a specific aspect of nature or abstract concept. According to Igbo lore, these lesser deities as elements of Chukwu have their own specific purpose. They exist only as long their purpose does, thus many Alusi die off save for those who represent universal concepts. Some of the more notable male Alusi include: Amadioha the God of Thunder and Lightning, popular among the Southern Igbo; Ikenga the horned god of Fortune and Industry; Agwu the God of Divination and Healing; Njoku Ji the God of Yam, and Ogbunabali the God of Death. In southern Igbo dialects especially, gbr is the term for these forces.[45]

Ala (meaning 'earth' and 'land' in Igbo, also j-n)[48][49] is the feminine earth spirit who is responsible for morality, fertility and the dead ancestors who are stored in the underworld in her womb. Ala is at the head of the Igbo pantheon, maintaining order and carrying out justice against wrongdoers. Ala is the most prominent and worshipped Arusi,[43] almost every Igbo village has a shrine dedicated to her called h Ala where large decisions are taken.[18] Ala is believed to be involved in all aspects of human affairs including festivals and at offerings. Ala stands for fertility and things that generate life including water, stone and vegetation, colour (gw), beauty (mm) which is connected to goodness in Igbo society, and uniqueness (j).[18] She is a symbol of morality who sanctioned omenala Igbo customs from which these moral and ethical behaviours are upheld in Igbo society.[50] Ala is the ground itself, and for this reason taboos and crimes are known as s Ala ('desecration of Ala'), all land is holy as the embodiment of Ala making her the principal legal sanctioning authority.[18][50] Prohibitions include murder, suicide, theft, incest, and abnormalities of birth such as in many places the birth of twins and the killing and eating of pregnant animals, if a slaughtered animal is found to be pregnant sacrifices are made to Ala and the foetus is buried.[18] People who commit suicides are not buried in the ground or given burial rites but cast away in order not to further offend and pollute the land, their ability to become ancestors is therefore nullified.[27] When an individual dies a 'bad death' in the society, such as from the effects of divine retributive justice or breaking a taboo, they are not buried in the earth, but are discarded in a forest so as not to offend Ala. As in cases of most Arusi, Ala has the ability to be malevolent if perceived to be offended and can cause harm against those who offend her.[18][50] 2351a5e196