Ọdịnala is therefore, the ancient religion of the people that connect mmadu(human being) to Chukwu (God) through Chi (personal spiritual guardian or providence). It is an ancient sacred science that enables people to exist in peace, love and harmony withChukwu (God), Chi (personal providence) and Arushi (the supernatural forces) on their way back to eternal.
Like all religions, Ọdịnala is the vehicle used by its practitioners (Dibias or priests) and spiritual students (followers of the religion) to understand their World (called "Uwa"), or more specifically, the part of the World that affects them
Ọdịnala is a panentheistic faith, having a strong central deity at its head. All things spring from this deity.
To the ancient Igbo, the force that is Chukwu is infinitely powerful that no mmadu(human being) approach this force directly. Also, the force does not impact into our worlds directly but rather through lower force (s). The general truth is that no person can work with or deal with Chukwu directly without passing through the lower force (s). This is why the Igbo people were easily captured by the teachings of the imported western religion which holds that either Christ of Christianity is a lower force.
Ọdịnala identify these lower forces by their names and use a collective term Arushi to describe them. If an Arushi is assigned to an individual, it becomes a Chi.
Chukwu as the central deity is classed among the ndi mmuo, 'invisible beings', category of ontological beings which includes Ala the divine feminine earth force, chi the 'personal deity', ndichie the ancestors, and mmuo minor spirits. The other class of beings are under ndi mmadu, 'visible beings', which are ánụ́ animals, and ósísí vegetation, and the final class ùrò which consists of elements, minerals and inanimate beings. Chukwu as the creator of everything visible and invisible and the source of lesser divinities is also referred to as Chineke. Chukwu is genderless and is reached through various spiritual forces mainly under the spirit class of Alusi who are incarnations of the high god; no sacrifices, however, are given to Chukwu and no shrines and altars are erected for him. If an Arushi is assigned to an individual, it becomes a chi, a personal guardian god.
SACRED ODINALA BELIEFS
1- CHI : Chi is the personal spiritual guardian of a person and is conceived as ḿmúọ́, a spirit which determines destiny. The breath of life is in the heart, óbì. Chi refers to the light and the day in contrast to the dark. The universal chi indirectly in charge of everything is Chukwu who is the supreme being that is beyond the limits of time and space. Chukwu's name is a compound of the words chí + úkwú('great in size, supreme'). Chi is believed to be a spiritual connection between an individual and the high god and it dictates the trajectory of a persons spiritual journey on earth.
2- UWA : In Igbo cosmology, the world was divided into four corners by the high god corresponding to èké órìè àfọ̀ ǹkwọ́ which are the days of the week in the Igbo calendar regarded as market days.
Chukwu sees that the sun travels across the world in the day time and then cuts into two in order for the moon to pass on a perpendicular route, and so the world is divided into four parts and four days. The quarterly division of the earth and the days makes the number four sacred (ńsọ́) to the Igbo
The pattern of two and four reoccur in Chukwu's creations. The days correspond to the four cardinal points and are its names in Igbo, èké east, órìè west, àfọ̀ north, ǹkwọ́ south. The Nri-Igbo claim the market days to have been introduced to the Igbo by their divine progenitor and king Eri in the 9th century after encountering the days as deities. These alusi are venerated as the primary or as a major deity under Chineke in parts of Igboland. In terms of hierarchy, some communities recognise èké as the head of these alusi, while others prioritise órìè and ǹkwọ́ first after the high god. Market days may have local deities representing the spirits in some places, in many southern Igbo towns Agwu is the patron of Eke, Ogwugwu the patron of Orie, Amadioha the patron of Afo and Ala for Nkwo.
3- JUSTICE : Ofo and ogu is a law of retributive justice. It vindicates anyone that is wrongly accused of a crime as long as their "hands are clean". It is only a person who is on the righteous side of Ogu-na-Ofo that can call its name in prayer, otherwise such a person will face the wrath of Amadioha (the god of thunder and lightning). Kola nut is used in ceremonies honour Chukwu, chi, Arushi and ancestors and is used as a method of professing innocence when coupled with libations. The Igbo often make clay altars and shrines of their deities which are sometimes anthropomorphic, the most popular example being the wooden statues of Ikenga. Typically, only men are allowed to make representational figures of supernatural forces.
4- REINCARNATION :The Igbo have traditionally believed in reincarnation, ilo-uwa. People are believed to reincarnate into families that they were part of while alive.People can usually reincarnate seven times, giving seven opportunities to enter the spirit world successfully as an ancestor. The persons cycle number on earth is unknown to them. Humans can only reincarnate as humans. Families hire fortune tellers to reveal the ancestral identity of the child in their former life, the baby is sometimes named after this relative .
5- OGBANJE : An ogbanje is a reincarnating evil spirit that would deliberately plague a family with misfortune. In folklore, the ogbanje upon being born by the mother, under a certain amount of time (usually before puberty), would deliberately die and then come back and repeat the cycle, causing the family grief. This time period varies between minutes, hours, days and years. Female circumcision was sometimes thought to get rid of the evil spirit, whereas finding the evil spirits Iyi-uwa, which they have dug somewhere secret, would ensure the ogbanje would never plague the family with misfortune again. The Iyi-uwa is a stone that the ogbanje's way of coming back to the world and also a way of finding its targeted family. The stone is deep enough to not have been planted physically by a child. The iyi-uwa is dug out by a priest and destroyed. Furthermore female ogbanje die during pregnancies along with the baby, male ogbanje die before the birth of a wife's baby or the baby dies. The child is confirmed to no longer be an ogbanje after the destruction of the stone or after they successfully give birth to another baby.
DEITIES IN IGBO LAND
1- ALUSI : Chukwu's incarnations and ministers in the world (ụ̀wà) are the Alusi, supernatural forces that regulate human life. In southern Igbo dialects especially, ágbàrà is the term for these forces. The alusi are regarded as channels to Chukwu. The alusi, who are also known asarushi, anusi, or arusi in differing dialects all spring from Ala the earth spirit who embodies the workings of the world. There are lesser alusi in Odinani, each of whom are responsible for a specific aspect of nature or abstract concept. According to Igbo belief, these lesser alusi, as elements of Chukwu, have their own specific purpose.
Alusi manifest in natural elements and their shrines are usually found in forests in which they are based around specific trees. At shrines, íhú mmúọ́, an object such as a hung piece of cloth or a group of statues are placed at an alusi's group of trees to focus worship.
2- ALA : Ala (meaning 'earth' and 'land' in Igbo, also Ájá-ànà) 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 alusi, almost every Igbo village has a shrine dedicated to her called íhú Ala where major decisions are taken. 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 (àgwà), beauty (mmá) which is connected to goodness in Igbo society, and uniqueness (áfà).She's a symbol of morality who sanctioned omenala Igbo customs from which these moral and ethical behaviours are upheld in Igbo society. Ala is the ground itself, and for this reason taboos and crimes are known as ńsọ́ Ala ('desecration of Ala'), all land is holy as the embodiment of Ala making her the principal legal sanctioning authority.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. 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.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 alusi, Ala has the ability to be malevolent if perceived to be offended and can cause harm against those who offend her.
In some places, such as Nri, the royal python, éké, is considered a sacred and tame agent of Ala and a harbinger of good fortune when found in a home. The python is referred to as nne 'mother' in areas where the python is revered, it is a symbol of female beauty and gentleness. Killing of the python is expressly forbidden in these places and sanctions are taken against the killer including the funding of expensive human sized burials that are given to slain pythons.
3- AMADIOHA : Amadioha (from ámádí + ọ̀hà, 'free will of the people' in Igbo) is the Alusi of justice, thunder, lightning and the sky. He is referred to as Amadioha in southern Igboland, Kamalu,Kamanu, Kalu among the Aro and other Cross River Igbo people, Igwe among the Isuama Igbo and in northwestern Igboland, and Ofufe in certain parts of Igboland. His governing planet is the Sun.His color is red, and his symbol is a white ram.Metaphysically, Amadioha represents the collective will of the people and he is often associated with Anyanwu.He is the expression of divine justice and wrath against taboos and crimes; in oaths he is sworn by and strikes down those who swear falsely with thunder and lightening.Amadioha shrines exist around Igboland, his main shrine is located at Ozuzu in the riverine Igbo region in northern Rivers State. While Anyanwu is more prominent in northern Igboland, Amadioha is more prominent in the south. His day is Afo, which is the second market day. In mbari houses Amadioha is depicted beside Ala as her consort.
4- IKENGA : Ikenga (literally 'place of strength') is an alusi and a cult figure of the right hand and success found among the northern Igbo people. He is an icon of meditation exclusive to men and owners of the sculpture dedicate and refer to it as their 'right hand' which is considered instrumental to personal power and success. The successful Ikenga influenced the saying of well being 'íkéǹgàm kwụ̀ ọ̀tọ́ ta ta' meaning that 'my Ikenga stands upright today'. During festivals of Ogbalido or olili Ikenga ('feast of Ikenga') sculptures of him may be paraded around a village or displayed at the village centre if too monumental to transport. When a person does not become successful with hard work the Ikenga has 'fallen' and is seen as a sign of danger, if meditation and cajoling the Ikenga fails, the sculpture is 'thrown down' and broken which spiritually kills the Ikenga; a new one is carved to replace it.
5- EKWENSU : This Alusi was adept at bargains and trade, and praying to Ekwensu was said to guarantee victory in negotiations. As a force of change and chaos, Ekwensu also represented the spirit of war among the Igbo, invoked during times of conflict and banished during peacetime to avoid his influences inciting bloodshed in the community, warriors set up shrines to Ekwensu to help war efforts.
This is based upon the finding of old shrines dedicated to the worship of the spirit as well as the recounting of old oral stories which depict the character of Ekwensu. Ekwensu was a bringer of violence and possessed people with anger. Ekwensu holds the propensity of bringing misfortune and is regarded as an evil spirit in this sense. Among the Christian Igbo Ekwensu is representative of Satan and is seen as a force which places itself opposite to that of Chukwu. Ekwensu festivals are held in some Igbo towns where military success is celebrated and wealth is flaunted.
6- MMUO : Mmuo is a broad class of minor spirits or divinities manifesting in natural elements under the class of elder divinities with major cults. Feminine mmuo inhabit earth and water and masculine mmuo inhabit fire and air. This class can be broken down by the alusi, serviceable mmuo, agwu are related to unusual and deranged human behaviours, these spirits interact with human in a capricious nature that often makes them dangerous. Other cult deities exist around Igboland such as Njoku Ji, yam and fire deity overseeing agriculture, Idemili, 'the pillar of water', the female alusi based in Idemili North and South who holds up the waters, and Mkpataku the 'bringer of wealth' or 'coming in of wealth'.In addition to minor spirits there are evil wondering spirits of wrong doers called ogbunike.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES OF ODINALA
1- DIBIA : Dibia are the mystic mediators between the human world and the spirit world and act as healers, scribes, teachers, diviners and advisors of people in the community. They are usually consulted at the shrine of a communities major deity. Dibia is a compound of the words di('professional, master, husband') + ọ́bị̀à ('doctoring, sciences').The dibia are believed to be destined for spiritual work. The dibia sees the spiritual world at any time and interprets what messages being sent and sees the spiritual problems of living people. They are given the power by the spirit world to identify any alusi by name and the possible ways of placating and negotiating with the deity. Dibia are thought to be revealed to possess the power over one of three elements namely water (and large bodies of water), fire and vegetation. Dibia whose elements are vegetation can go on to become herbalists by their supposed instinctual knowledge of the health benefits of certain plants they are instinctually drawn to, fire element dibia can handle fire unscathed during their initiation, and water element dibia do not drown. Dibia can partially enter the spirit world and communicate this by rubbing chalk on one half of their face.Dibia and obia practices were transported to the British Caribbean during the slave trade and became known as obeah.
2- AFA : The name of divination in Igbo derives from ígbá áfà or áhà meaning 'to name' coming from the diviners skill in rooting out problems hence naming them.The dibia or ogba afa, 'interpreter of afa', is considered a master of esoteric knowledge and wisdom and igba afa is a way in which people can find out the cause of such things as misfortunes. The diviner interprets codes from àlà mmuọ the unseen by throwing divination seeds, cowries, and beads,or observing a divination board sometimes called osho which can be used in pronouncing curses on the evil. In this way the diviner is endowed with special sight.it is related the sciences of homeopathic medicine known as ọ́gwụ̀, a practitioner consciously picks to either of these abilities.
3- NDIICHIE :Ndebunze, or Ndichie, are the deceased ancestors who are considered to be in the spirit word, àlà mmúọ́. In Odinani, it is believed that the dead ancestors are invisible members of the community; their role in the community, in conjunction with Ala, is to protect the community from epidemics and strife such as famine and smallpox.Ancestors helped chi look after men. Shrines for the ancestors in Igbo society were made in the central house, or òbí or òbú, of the patriarch of a housing compound. The patriarchal head of the household is in charge of venerating the patriarchal ancestors through libations and offerings, through this the living maintain contact with the dead.
- KOLANUT : Kola nut (ọ́jị̀, or ọ́jị̀ Ìgbò) offerings and prayers (ị́gọ́ ọ́jị̀, 'kola nut blessing', ị́wá ọ́jị̀, 'kola nut breaking') can be performed personally between one and his spirit or in a group in a form of a prayer or chant. The saluter addresses their personal god or chi as well as alusi and their ancestors.These kola nuts are held in a special round bowl called ọ́kwá with a compartment at the centre of the bowl for condiments for the kola nut such as alligator pepper (or capsicum cayene, ósẹ̀ ọ́jị́) and ground peanuts. The bowl and kola nut rite is used to welcome visitors into a household.After the prayer, the ceremony ends with the saluter sharing pieces of the kola with the group, known as ị́ké ọ́jị̀. The kola is supposed to cut by hand, but more recently knives have become acceptable. When the cola has three cotyledons, or parts, it is considered an ọ́jị̀ ìkéǹgà in some northern communities (going by other names in communities Ikenga doesn't operate) and is considered a sign of great luck, bravery and nobility. O wetalu oji wetalu ndu — 'one who brings kola brings life' is a popular saying that points to the auspiciousness of the kola rite.
