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ÖDÏNANÏ: THE IGBO

OKUKU ANAAGÖ MMADÜAGWU (ASHÏÏ). Ö BALÜ DIKE EGWU. OTIGBU ONYE NA-ETIGBU ONYE SÖ YA KWÜ.

Author: Emmanuel Kaanaenechukwu ANIZOBA (EZEANA, ABÖSHÏ-UDUGHUDU-NGAGWU-DÏ-IGBO-EGWU)

B2, 6 X 9, PB, NONLAM, 20 LB, INSERTS: N, “Ödïnanï: the Igbo...” Order this book online at www.trafford.com/08-0487 or email orders@trafford.com

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© Copyright 2008 Emmanuel K. Anizoba. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

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1098765432 DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to:

Chi Ukwu, or Amaamaamachaamacha (the Great , the Unknown Godhead), Chi na-eke, Chineke, Mmöö or Ndü (God the Creator, the Son and Word of the Godhead, Spirit, Life), Alüshï (the and their Spirit Hosts), Ndï Otu (Spirit Guilds of the Elements: Earth, Water, Air and Fire), Chi m or Oke-Chukwu m (my personal God or my share of God and Life).

Ichie Ukwu na Ichie Nta, Ökpü Ukwu na Ökpü Nta (My male and fe- male Parents, dead or alive); particularly my great grandfather Udoh Anaagö, high priest of the Earth-God Ana or Anï (whose is Aja- Ana or Aja-Anï) of Agülü Öka (Agulu ), ; whose re-incar- nation I am.

The entire Anïzöö Udoh family, holders of the Öfö na Alö (the symbols of power and authority) of the Anaagö Mmadüagwu lineage.

My village Ümübeele and my town Öka na-asö enwe (Awka, for which the monkey is sacred).

All lovers of Ödïnanï or Omenana, the Igbo religion.

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CONTENTS

About the Author, Emmanuel K. Anizoba: A Biographical Note...... 7

1. Preamble ...... 9 • Basic Philosophy ...... 9 • Clarification of Terms...... 15 • The Godhead ...... 17 • Manifestation: From the invisible to the visible ...... 18 • Formation of worlds and creatures ...... 22 • Our Solar System ...... 25 • The Basis of Morals...... 26

2. Ödïnanï or Igbo Religion...... 30 • Gods are the Creative fashioning Powers ...... 30 • The Temporary Loss of Ödïnanï...... 33 • The Recovery and Revival of Ödïnanï...... 76 • Morning in the Obi—Ï göfülü Ndï Ichie öjï ütütü ...... 81 • Ödïnanï and Sex ...... 87 • The Basics of Ödïnanï ...... 104

3. Talismans, Ötümökpö, Ökpö, Jazz, Juju...... 107 • What are these Psycho-Spiritual Objects?...... 107 • Use of Talismans...... 110 • Help yourself, for the Gods help only those who help themselves...... 112 • Words have power ...... 113 • Affirmations ...... 114 • Denials...... 114 • Projection of mental images into the outside world ...... 115

5 4. ...... 120 • What is Reincarnation? ...... 120 • Reincarnation in the Christian Scriptures ...... 125 • Reincarnation in my family & the Agü ...... 131

5. or Devil, ...... 136

6. My Pedigree—Onye mü m?...... 139

7. Care of the Body and the Mind...... 157 • Care of the Body...... 157 • Care of the Mind...... 160 • The Fateful Months of the Year...... 165

8. Conclusion...... 169

Appendix ...... 171

A Sample Ödïnanï Ritual...... 171

6 About the Author, Emmanuel K. Anizoba:

A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Born in 1945, Emmanuel K. Anizoba was brought up in a Christian family with a strong Polytheistic ancestry, in Umubele village of the blacksmith town Awka, , Nigeria. Son of a government teacher, he accompanied his father during the latter’s movements from one school to another and attended government primary schools at Ajali, Awka and Afikpo. A very turbulent youth, he attended secondary school at Okongwu Memorial Grammar School (1960-63) and Igwebuike Grammar School Awka (1964). Having performed poorly at the end of his secondary school career (bagged a grade 3 school leav- ing certificate!), he entered the civil service in 1965 at as a fi- nance clerk from where he joined the Biafran army (July 1967—January 1970). In June 1970, his eldest sister, Rose Anizoba, invited him to Geneva, Switzerland, to study French in order to gain admission to study eco- nomics at the University of Fribourg. At Fribourg, he got a Licence ès Sciences Economiques et Sociales in 1976 and in 1979 he got a PhD in Econometrics. He was on the Dean’s list at the University of Fribourg and was appointed Teaching Assistant to the Econometrics Chair. In 1980 he left Switzerland for Nigeria, where he continued his brief teaching career at the University of . He joined the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 1981 as a Statistician Economist. At the AfDB he managed the Loan Accounting & Financial Statistics Division (1996—2001) before being appointed Advisor to AfDB’s Financial Controller in 2002. At the age of sixty years, Emmanuel K. Anizoba retired from the AfDB in April 2005. He settled in his Umubele village Awka home, where efforts are underway to revive the polytheistic and living tradi- tion of his ancestors. He is married and has five children.

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1 PREAMBLE

BASIC PHILOSOPHY I n an attempt to explain the origin of the manifest universe, the first verse of the Christian Bible says: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen 1:1) But we may rightly ask: (1) In what place did the action of creating take place? (2) Had the manifest universe any beginning? (3) Where did this creative God come from? (4) Where did this God get the materials or stuff with which to cre- ate the heaven and the earth? These four questions constitute a philosophical nightmare for the untutored Christian. No logical explanation of the origin of the mani- fest universe is possible without logical answers to these questions. We shall provide answers to the questions in accordance with Ancient Wisdom. (1) In what place did the action of creating taking place? In Space! To choose any other locus leads to a blind alley and insuperable problems of logic. (2) Had the manifest universe any beginning? No! The universe

9 ÖDÏNANÏ: THE IGBO RELIGION

emerges from Space, stays in Space for some time, and dissolves back into Space—ad infinitum. Just in the same manner that ice emerges from a body of water, floats in the water for some time, and dissolves back into the water. It is the serpent swallow- ing its tail, a circle with neither beginning nor end. Recall the Christian chant: Etu ö dï na mbüü, öö dï ügbüaa, ö ga-adïgïdee ootuaa, wee luo n’üwa ebighiebi, Amen! As it was in the begin- ning, it is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen! (3) Where did this creative God come from? It is there in Space! Does the bolt of lightning or the tornado come from somewhere other than Space? No! Their home is Space. Space may be empty of objects, but It is not empty. The term “empty space” has no meaning. (4) Where did this God get the materials or stuff with which to create the heaven and the earth? From Space of course! Space contains all that is required for the construction of the manifest universe. To create, the God needs some world-stuff because ex nihilo, nihil fit, nothing comes from nothing. Creation by sheer fiat is nonsense. So, Space is the absolute Container of all that is, whether manifested or unmanifested. And Space is that which was, is and will be, whether there is a Universe or not; whether there be Gods or none. Since Space is the all, we may ask: What is Space? Nobody knows! It is the undefined and indefinable term in the logic that tries to explain the origin of the manifest universe. It is the same with a term like electricity: what is electricity? Nobody knows! It’s an undefined and indefinable term in physics. To call it energy does not define it! And what is energy? This is an infinite regressus or a circle. We must assume such terms as given, as the basis for ulterior construc- tions and reasoning. We are mentally stuck without assuming them as given. Hence, the basic assumption of the Ancients is: Infinite Space is the Absolute , which has neither name nor attribute. It is the Unknown Deity or Godhead. And the differentiation or crystallization of Infinite Space is symbolized in the Hierarchy of Beings that people the cosmogony of all nations. Space as the Unknown Deity appears clearly in the Christian Bible where St. Paul says the following in the book of Acts 17:23-28 concern- ing the Unknown God: 23. For as I was passing through and considering the objects of your

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