Leopards of the Magical Dawn Science and the Cosmological Foundations of Igbo Culture
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Leopards of the Magical Dawn Science and the Cosmological Foundations of Igbo Culture Nze Chukwukadibia E. Nwafor For Alawuala, Most Compassionate of Mothers Leopards of the Magical Dawn Science and the Cosmological Foundations of Igbo Culture Contents A Map of Igboland List of Plates Prologue 1—Uwa Wara Awa: Igbo Cosmology and the Mythic House of Life 2—Obi Mbu: The Primordial House and the Veiled Dynamics of Creation 3—Obi Ndu: The Cosmic House and the Igbo Multidimensional Universe 4—Obi Uno: The Earthly House and the Institution of Civilization 5—Obi Chi: The Somatic House and the Prime Human Microcosm Plates Refrences A Map of Igboland (Image source: Nairaland.com) List of Images Plate1a — An Ozo titled Man with his Oche Nze and other cult paraphernalia Plate 1b — A wooden cult-stool from Papua New Guinea Plate 1c — Uli cosmic vision depicting extensive astral and natural life Plate 1d— The Ijele masquerade Plate 2a — Odegwoo or the Lejja Ben-Ben (Primeval Mound) Plates 2b and c — Okpoko the Hornbill and the Bennu bird of ancient Egypt Plate 2d — The Dan Baki Pyramid at Zinder, Niger, West Africa Plate 3a — Igbo-Ukwu roped vase (Udu Okike/Udu Ona/Ite Ona) Plate3b — An ancient Egyptian roped vase Plate 4a — The Milky-Way galaxy Plate 4b — Traditional brass anklet (Nja) worn by Igbo women Plate 4c — Aerial view of a palm tree revealing its natural spiral formation Plates 5a and b — Okirikiri wu ije agwo principle as depicted in Igbo-African art and as found in nature Plate 6a — Igbo-Ukwu bronze shell artifact Plate 6b — Graphic projection of String Theory model of the physical universe Plate 6c — The Milky Way galaxy in its Cosmic Spider form Plate 7a — A basic chart of primordial particles Plates7b and c — Ube and Okpa local Igbo edibles Plate 7d — Lorentzian wormhole model Plate 7e — An Nze-na-Ozo titled nobility stool Plate 8 — The African string hand game Plate 9a — An Igbe Agwu (Agwu Mystic Chest) Plate 9b — The Izu symbol of Igbo cosmology Plate 10a — Ichi Agbaja pattern showing Udele Igwe as Agu Nkwo Plates 10b and c — Symbolic aspects of Udele Igwe as depicted in Igbo art Plate 10d — A ring nebulae Plate 11a — Okongono the Mantis of Ikenga Plate 11b — Traditional Igbo Ikenga figure Plate 11c — The baboon relief of Dendara Temple of Hathor Prologue --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Igbo traditional life is ritual-centric, quite simply, for Igbo culture is primarily and largely a mystical culture, propelled by a deeply primal awareness of the spirituality of life. Igbo culture gravitates towards an ordered universe of interconnectedness life. Hence, if ritual is the language of the spirit, the language which speaks to the interconnected whole of life, it is only surmisable that, a culture in continuous adherence to its own rituals is a culture in unbroken communication with its own spirit. Given the current state of Igbo cultural consciousness, one is nearly moved to tears in the face of such overt realities. However, the study of Igbo culture and her civilizational antiquity has seen quite a great deal of revival in the last few years. This overly due resurgence is mostly owing to the continued efforts of Igbo scholars, at home and in the diaspora, towards ensuring that the renowned timelessness of Igbo culture never becomes a thing of axiomatic expression. Nevertheless, it still fosters a great unrest to notice the paltry level of interest and resources that go into the appreciation, perpetuation and in-depth scholarship of Odinala. Ottenberg (1981) have lamented that “considering the size and importance of the Igbo, very little research and publication has been undertaken on them, not only in history but in anthropology and other fields, compared to, say, the Yoruba or Ashanti” (p. 120). It also appears that even when tentative attempts were made in the past to study this primal aspect of Igbo culture i.e. Odinala, the resulting works were either tainted with typical western epistemic notions or betraying the usual lack of depth that characterizes ungrounded ethnographic accounts. The classic case of certain Igbo Catholic priests who often venture into this realm of Igbo studies in fulfillment of their requisite academic and religious interests will do quite a bit in illuminating this phenomenon. This is often the case, even when such persons are asserting their indigenousness to the culture. In view of this, there can be no doubt that much of the back-breaking circumstances belaboring Igbo people today have their roots in the apparent loss of self-discernment that characterizes our contemporary humanity. On the other hand, the politico-religiously sustained cultural cum economic myopia flourishing among them—as seeded by the old colonial powers has not helped this unfortunate condition either. Even sadder is the revealing fact that, as a result of this dedicated onslaught on the Igbo mind and her timeless cultural values, many Igbo sons and daughters now suffer a total disconnect from their original ancestral consciousness. For many of them today, the effect of the alienation has been so devastating that they no longer comprehend the multidimensional realities embedded in their culture. More often than not, the direct consequence is that such persons no longer know or have access to the subtle meanings and profoundly empowering elements residing in their sacred traditions. Therefore, they ignorantly castigate such as "fetish", "demonic", "satanic" and every other derisive term made available to them by their largely exploitative, present-day religious leaders. A case in point is the miserable tradition of "confession" practiced in the Catholic Church which has unfortunately eaten into the moral fabric of those Igbo people who uncritically adhere to that religious system. Indeed, it does not occur to such persons anymore that perhaps, someone might be taking advantage of their devout ignorance all the way in Rome. For how can one in their right mind, go to confess one’s sins to another human being who is clearly not the offended, whereas in most cases, the offended person is still alive and breathing? It simply boggles the mind. Even when the sins have being committed against the Supreme Spirit, so to speak, on what grounds does another human being qualify to be another’s confessor? Is there a deliberate attempt by such practices and its wanton architects to bypass some very fundamental principles of morality, all in the name of ecclesiastic mediation? Indeed, if such practices do not represent very devious methods of self-deception and sophisticated avenues of exploiting the gullible, then I don’t know what to call it. One is left in wonder, for instance, as to why an Igbo man or woman who has offended another would ignore the simple but time-tested Odinala practice of approaching the offended with Kolanut (a symbol of peace, communion, hospitality, kinship congeniality etc.), go on one’s knees (where applicable) and plead to be forgiven. This is in line with the Igbo spiritual principle of mmadu bu chi ibe ya. In effect, the continued aversion of such simple yet profoundly effective spiritual principles by Igbo people and much of contemporary humanity is one of the underlying reasons behind the ubiquity of generational curses and suffering in our time. The noble spiritual dictum of ife kwulu, ife akwudobe ya will appear to hold very little wisdom for most persons of this day and age. That one thing stands beside another and never alone, a profound law of existence, is truth beyond all human pretense, as perceived by the Igbo spirit. The implied cyclic reality, reciprocity and inherent interconnectivity of all beings and their actions as enshrined in the above spiritual dictum can hardly be overemphasized. Ironically, the much elevated modern and postmodern values cherished zealously by countless innocent persons today—unbeknownst to them—were never truly intended to provide them with any form of sustainable freedom or self-fulfillment. Otherwise, a great number of them would have noticed by now, that the essential keys to their total self-realization have always resided in their fearfully clasped hands. Nwakanma’s (2008) extensive observation in this regards, focusing on the elusive but crucial roles sustained by the branded religions of our time, in the increasingly startling illusion of modernity goes thus: Religion is connected to the market, to production, to distribution, to regulation, and to the consecration of the rituals of being and transition. Note: wherever the Igbo built their markets, nearby was the central shrine of the land of the people- where their ancestors entered into the covenants that formed and perpetuated their towns. The connection between religion and market, and the connection between who controls the market and power, is so profound that anybody who does not see it is either blind or naive. It is the reason why the British frigates bombed the Onitsha market in the late 19th century. It is the reason why the Eze Nri was the most powerful ritual figure right down to the lands we now call Ghana for many hundreds of years. It is why the Aro almost built a West African empire until the advent of the British. It is why the Brits planned a major campaign called the "Aro" campaign in 1902 to dislodge what they called "the long Juju" because they thought, somehow, it was the controlling force of the Igbo market and political system. It is the question of "ownership" - do you own the rituals of production and distribution; or the means of affirmation of the titular ownership of land? The ancestral rituals. Can an Igbo Christian be the head of the Church of England? Or the Papacy? Or the Church of Christ of Later Day Saint? Could the Queen, head of the Church of England, be the Eze Mmuo Igwekala at Umunneoha?...But these are questions that we raise, simply to point to the inadequacy of making wild claims about absolute salvation which the Christians and the Muslims impose on the rest of us.