Every culture is blessed with mythology and mysteries. Mythology as defined by Nwankwo is, "legends of the people's history, religion, stories of how the world was created, traditions of origin and their heroes and they are meant to describe the structure of the world's people live in and the force that operate in it." (Nwankwo). The Igbos have diverse versions of their myths, and it is imperative to consider that these myths shape their form of cultures, traditions, socio-cultural activities, economies, and polities. Each culture has its uniqueness and differs from other cultures in a profound way. A lot of Igbo cultural practices such as Iriji, Ichi ozo, Igboto mma and various other religious, social and political activities are deeply rooted in their mythology (Mbaegbu 27-42). A study of the Igbo mythology will show their peculiarities among particular tribes living in Nigeria.
Nigeria is a country comprised of various ethnic and religious groups having varying history and culture. The Igbo is a tribe in the southeastern part of Nigeria, beyond the Niger-Benue confluence. It is one of the three major tribes in Nigeria while the others being Yoruba and Hausa. Different versions of the Igbo mythology have appeared, but most of them are simply not accepted. For instance, there is a so-called oriental version of the mythology that holds that the Igbo origin came from the Middle East, which constitutes the Jewish and Egyptian tribe. (Adeleke 179-190; Nwankwo). This myth has been accepted by both scholars and non-scholars because it appears not to hold any water.
However, the mythology that appears to carry greater weight than all is the origin of the first man from heaven that the Igbos refers to as "Eri” (Ogormegbunem 239-252). The myth holds the concept of supreme God (CHUKWU) who sent Eri to the earth from heaven. But because Eri saw that the entire earth was covered with water, he sat on an ant-hill (Nwankwo). Eri told Chukwu the situation of things and how water flooded the earth. This made Chukwu send the Awka blacksmith with an Ofo to dry the waters. The Ofo was recognized as a symbol of authority afterward. When Eri became hungry, Chukwu fed him with Azu Igwe or fish from heaven. However, this food ceased when Eri died (Nwankwo).
On complaining that he was hungry, Nri, the son of Eri was asked by Chukwu to bury his son and daughter in separate graves. When he obeyed, yam and cocoyam grew from the respective graves in Izuato (12 days). Later on, Chukwu ordered Nri to bury his servants in different other graves, and when he obeyed, oil palm and breadfruit tree (ukwa) grew from the two graves. This led to their prosperity and subsequent food supply. Furthermore, the Nri mythology elaborates on other aspects of the Igbo culture such as the Ichi Ozo which came as a result of Nri’s obedience to Chukwu in distributing the foods to other towns (Hackett 303-309; Nwankwo).
It is easy to infer from the mythology that the Igbos are deeply religious people. Mbaegbu pointed out that "the question on whether or not the Supreme Being is a stranger in Igbo traditional philosophy is a question on being, and its being there." (Mbaegbu 27). He further added to assert that the Igbos had already held the concept of the Supreme Being before the intrusion of the Westerners. This is reflected in a lot of traditional Igbo names such as IFEANY CHUKWU (Nothing is impossible with God), CHUWKUDINMA (God is Good), and EBUBE CHUWKWU (the glory of God). Moreover, CHUKWU NONSO (God is close to us), OLU CHUKWU (God's voice) and so forth. This shows that the deity "Chukwu” is deeply rooted in the fabrics of the Igbo tradition (Hackett 303-309; Mbaegbu 27-42).
However, it is also important to assert that the Igbos believes in smaller gods and spirits. Some of these gods according to the mythology includes the god of the moon, god of the earth and so forth. Igbos believe that these gods control activities happening in the earth and one can find favor by pleasing them. This constitutes the basics of idol worshipping and charms in the Igbo land. It also leads to some other concepts such as reincarnation that the Igbos believe that usually transpires within the same immediate or extended family (Stevenson 13-30).
In short, the Igbo tribe is one of the three major Nigeria tribes together with Hausa and Yoruba. They reside in the southeastern part of the country. The Idea of the Igbo’s supreme deity (Chuwku) portrays a being that is truly immortal. The myth never mentioned or indicated that Chukwu died at any point in time. Igbos also have other smaller deities besides Chukwu. Such deities include “Ibinakpabi” (Long Juju), “Agwunsi (god of divination and healing), and "Ikenga" (god of fortune and industry), to mention a few. Each of these deities are shown to be immortal. In general, these mythologies shaped the belief practices, system of worship, tradition, political and economic structure and practices in these cultures. This is interesting to note that the Igbos still hold on to their cultures till date even in modern IT era.
Work Cited
Adeleke, D. (2004). Lessons from Yorùbá Mythology. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 39(3), 179-190.Print
Hackett, R. (1990). African religions: Images and I-glasses. Religion, 20(4), 303-309.Print.
Mbaegbu, CC. 'Traditional Rational Arguments for the Existence of God (Chukwu) In Igbo Traditional Philosophy.' Journal of Religion and Human Relations 1.3 (2013): 27-42.Print
Nwankwo, M.Uchenna, “Mythology and Mysticism in Igbo History.” N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. http://martinsuchennanwankwo.blogspot.com/2012/01/mythology-and-mysticism-in-igbo-history.html
Ogormegbunem, Dibia Emmanuel. “Myth and Mystery from an Igbo cosmological Worldview and her Relation to Them." International Journal of Philosophy and Theology 2.2(2014): 239-252. Print.
Stevenson, I. "The Belief in Reincarnation among the Igbo of Nigeria”. Journal of Asian and African Studies 20.1-2 (1985): 13-30.Print.
