Before we delve into Igbo “godly” names, we must pause and go way back in time. According to Professor Olu Oguibe, the concept of one omnipotent, formidable force Chi Ukwu [Supreme Spirit] was not pan-Igbo. It might well have been so, but the fact remains that prior to the coming of colonists and commercial missionaries from Europe, the Igbo had long established the concept of one source of supreme power under which all other deities operate. The name is a matter of semantics of nomenclature or of politics of linguistic correctness.
The Nri, who migrated from the northwest of Igboland, were known to have introduced a theological hegemony in northern Igboland. It turned out that their expansionism was both political and religious. They established the elite Ozo Society. The pursuance of a pan-Igbo religion probably suffered at the altar of elitist aggrandizement. When the Aro arrived from the southeast, there reigned a period of subtle theological and aggressive commercial network. Whether the Aro superimposed their concept of Chi Ukwu [Supreme Deity] on the Igbo people, who believed in the existence of at least two different deities of equal power, is a matter for academic discourse. It is certain, however, that the Igbo believed in "Chi"; big or small is another story.
The fact that Ndiigbo personalized “Chi” should not be taken to mean that they believed in “gods.” There are identifiable deities in Igboland, and each community believed in their efficacy. People appeal to a benevolent deity for good fortunes and intercession with other specific deities known to hold the power to natural largesse. For example, Anyanwu is the deity of light, and Kamalu (Kalu) or Kamanu (Kanu) is the deity of lightening and thunder. The personal providence or godly guardian (Chi) is an aura of the Creator (Chineke). Chi is a guiding spirit that guides and guards without actually participating in piloting the affairs of humans. The saying, Onye kwe, Chi ya ekwe spells it out: He who believeth, achieveth.
It is no use arguing that the mainstream Igbo adopted the concept of Chi Ukwu [Almighty God] as a direct result of Aro [Arochukwu] commercial expansionism. Let us take the Hebrew: When the Egyptian exodusees came back, they maintained the tribes, and they met local people worshipping other deities. The natives did not all get whipped into the God-of-Moses-and-Aaron line of the returnees, but the movement brought back the concept of one Almighty Yahweh or Jehovah -- the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this was from the tribe of Judea -- the Jews. Today, the state of Israel is “Jewish.” Therefore, if the concept of one Chi Ukwu is rooted in the Ibini Ukpabi deity of the Aro, so be it. The Igbo are comfortable with the concept of one Supreme Force, as much as they are comfortable with the concept of Jesus being “nwa Chukwu” (son of God) because every person is a son of God!
Oguibe also argued that the concept of CHINEKE as one creator is flawed, based on some linguistic and logical inferences and or the quest of early Christians to make conversion more palatable. Serious argument can be made for this line of thought. But, no matter when and how “creation” crept into Igbo traditional creed, it has become an accepted theosophy: A supernatural formidable force made possible heaven and earth and all that is in them. The Igbo knew that igwe ka ala (the galaxy is bigger than earth). This is a scientific fact. In Ani ebuka, they marvel at the expansiveness of Earth Deity ["Ani"]; they do not contradict the fact that God is supreme, but merely express that this is one deity everyone has to sanctify. They know that igwe is mightier than the earth, but it is this Earth Deity that has made life possible.
Professor Akuma-Kalu Njoku of Western Kentucky University has raised the issue of “the gender of God in Igbo ontology.” He explained his “concept of father-mother God “ thus:
“I have said that Chi na Eke are our filial deity--our original parents (nne na nna mbu anyi bu ndi Igbo) who, in a mysterious coupling wherein Chi died and rose in Eke and Eke died and rose in Chi [and] they became two in one God. Whether they were born or created is beyond knowledge.”
I agree: To ascertain concretely whether these two were created or begotten would be the end of wisdom. The concept of Eke playing a vital role in creation is well-received in Igbo mythology. You have Chijindu and Ekejindu meaning the same thing. Of course, the use of Chukwujindu cuts across the two. Now, does it mean that we are looking at two components of one supreme being, as in the spirit and the son coming from one Christian heavenly father? Also, refer to Yoruba’s Olorun, the almighty deity. He had sent an older son to create the world, only to turn round and send the youngest son Oduduwa to complete the task and found the Yoruba kingdom. This is well and good in Yoruba mythology. When Eri tried it in Igboland, it was stale news: People were too religiously sophisticated to believe humans dropped from heavens above.
In assigning the deity of thunder and lightening [Amadioha, Kamalu, or Kamanu] the husbandry of Ani, the supremacy of forces above the earth is further stressed. And, above all these deities, there is Chi. Some now stress that the saying “ofu nne na-amu, mana ofu Chi anaghi eke” [one mother might give birth to two children created by different gods] is a complete negation of the nuances of Igbo language. First of all, that “to create” creeps into Igbo liturgy points to one source of creation. But the concepts of different “chi” is rooted more in destiny than in different “gods” struggling to assign different characteristics to children born of one woman. We can view this concept from the so-called revealed religions and we will still anchor on this saying referring to different destiny for even identical twins. Check their palms, the print patterns are quite different.
Finally, with all due respect to Eke, we must understand that Chi and Chukwu now refer to a supernatural force. Whatever an Igbo subethnic group tried to advance their own concept, and we ended up with ONE “big” God, is simply a matter of political sophistication which others may not like but must accept, especially if it does not deviate from their fundamental beliefs. A name is a name; what is in a name? A lot. Some Igbo still use Olisa; others go even further away to appropriate Osa [Edo for God]. To the southeast, we have Obasi [Ibibio for God]. These are simply different ways of saying the same thing: There is one source of life -- the Supreme Spirit.
Breaking down "Chineke," Oguibe (1997) argued:
If the Eke is another deity at par with Chi, what about the three deities after which Igbo days are named: Orie, Afo, Nkwo? It is generally accepted that Eke is the day of creation. Interestingly, “eke” means “to create.” Overkill semantics it is not, but no one must lose sight of the saying Chi na-eke” [God creates]. To accept “eke” as a verb, and conveniently adopt it as a noun whenever used with “Chi” is academic at best. There are no facts to support the notion that a clever, early Christian convert fused the two super deities to satisfy the concept of a creator called Chineke. And why go to this extent when there are “three persons” in the almighty Christian God; why not transpose the same two deities as the spirit (Chi) and the creator (Eke) in one parent -- God?
The debate shall surely continue. This is neither about theology nor mythology; for now, it might be worthwhile to warn that many CHI or CHUKWU names are still interchangeable. Again, one can be replaced either by Obasi, Obasi, or Osa... though these names for “God” are not very popular in Igbo mainstream. I will only cover separately those names that appear popularly in their specific Chi, Chukwu, Olisa, Obasi, or Osa forms. Chi will only represent “godly guardian” or "personal providence" -- an aura of the Chukwu, Almighty God -- when it is personalized in a name. For example, CHIMDI would mean “my godly guardian is alive,” while CHIDI would mean “God lives.” Otherwise, Chi and Chukwu are interchangeable.
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© M.
O. Ené, 1997
Reproduction
without permission is strictly prohibited.
Revised December 27, 2004