| Amadioha | |
|---|---|
Arusi of Thunder and Lightning | |
| Associate | Anyanwu |
| Planet | Sun |
| Symbol | White ram |
| Day | Eke |
| Color | Red |
Amadioha is the Arusi or Agbara of thunder and lightning of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. He is amongst the most popular of Igbo deities and in some parts of Igboland, he is referred to as Amadiora, Kamalu (which is short for Kalu Akanu), [1] Kamanu, [2] or Ofufe. [3] Astrologically, his governing planet is the Sun. [4] His color is red, and his symbol is a white ram. [5] Metaphysically, Amadioha represents the collective will of the people. [6] He is often associated with Anyanwu, who is the Igbo god of the Sun. While Anyanwu is more prominent in northern Igboland, Amadioha is more prominent in the southern part. His day is Eke, which is the first market day of the Igbo four-day week. [7]
Literally Amadioha means man of the people. Most people from the eastern part of Nigeria ascribe the name to their local deity/god. Shrines to Amadioha still exist in different parts of Igboland, but the main shrine is located at Ogboro Ama Ukwu or Ihiokpu as it is called in Ozuzu in Etche Local Government Area of present-day Rivers state, Nigeria. Although it is located there, it is not the patron deity of the people of Ozuzu. In fact, it is said that Ozuzu is the town in which Amadioha "lives" and it serves as it earthly headquarters. It is from there that it spread to other parts of Igboland. [8]
Amadioha is first and foremost known as a god of justice. He speaks through thunder, and he strikes with lightning. He creates thunder and lightning by casting "thunderstones" down to earth. [9] Persons judged guilty by Amadioha are either killed by lightning (which leaves a black mark on the forehead) or attacked by a swarm of bees. [10] The property of the victim is usually taken by the priests of Amadioha, and the body is left unburied and the victim unmourned, as the punishment is considered to be a righteous one from God. In Igbo culture when a dead person is left unburied, it gives the people clues that this one has been punished by the Gods. [11] In some parts of Igboland, Amadioha is used as a curse word. [12] Oaths are often sworn to him, which can carry deadly penalties when broken.
The ritual cleansing for Amadioha is very costly and tasking. The deity can only be appeased by transferring the curse to a live goat that is let loose outside of the walls of the community. [13] The ram is a common offering for him. [5] The priestly clan of Amadioha are known as Umuamadi, which translates to children of Amadioha. [14]
In some legends Amadioha is known to wield a sword named Mmaagha Kamalu. This sword is believed to glow red when in the presence of people with evil intentions and it will cause tremors when struck on the ground. It is also believed that the sword will gift mortals who wield it victory in battle.
Besides justice, Amadioha is also a god of love, peace and unity, and is prayed for increase of crops, children in the home, and benevolence. [15] Aside the above manifestations of Amadioha, he represents, as different from most African religious world views, a messianic hope for those in critical situations.
Amadioha is also considered to be a creator God. In some traditions, human beings were made by him when he sent a bolt of lightning down to strike a silk cotton tree, which split and revealed a man and a woman. [16]
Amadioha is often shown as a husband to Ani, who is the Earth mother. In some Igbo traditions, the pair are said to be the first Alusi to have been created by Chukwu. The two are often honored with Mbari houses, which were made with mudbrick. Amadioha is typically depicted as a fair-skinned, titled gentleman of cool temper who is the patron of "light skinned Igbos" and "men of exalted rank."In reality this is not so, as a matter of facts Amadioha has no humanoid form, and no physical form save for a gigantic white ram, as this is how those who have witnessed him describe him to be. [17] While Ani is considered to be the lawmaker of Igbo society (which is known as Odinala), Amadioha is the enforcer and protector of the law.
In the play, the Other Side of the Mask, the character Jamike refers to Amadioha as "the god of carvers" and identifies him further as "the god that sends lightning to kill the evil spirits who inhabit the trees from which carvers hew their wood. [18]
Amadioha as a personal shrine is a spirit of enterprise that brings wealth. It is also a representative of the head of the household. [19] Therefore, the people from Ozuzu town in Etche Local Government Area of River State of Nigeria do not eat Etu (special cow meat) because Amadioha (deity god) hates it because mashing its faeces results in skin peeling and massive death of the citizens. [20]
In precolonial times, the village of Ozuzu turned Amadioha/Kamalu into an oracle called Kamalu Ozuzu.
"Amadioha gbagbukwa gi" (Amadioha will strike you)
"Chi m le kwee - O wuru si o wu mu mere ihea, amadioha gbagbukwe m" (My god please see- If it is true that I did this thing, let Amadioha strike me). [21]
Ọdinani, also Omenala, Omenana, Odinana or Ọmenani, are the traditional cultural beliefs and practices of the Igbo people of south east Nigeria. These terms, as used here in the Igbo language, are synonymous with the traditional Igbo "religious system" which was not considered separate from the social norms of ancient or traditional Igbo societies. Theocratic in nature, spirituality played a huge role in their everyday lives. Although it has largely been supplanted by Christianity, the indigenous belief system remains in strong effect among the rural and village populations of the Igbo, where it has at times influenced the colonial religions. Odinani is a pantheistic and polytheistic faith, having a strong central deity at its head. All things spring from this deity. Although a pantheon of other gods and spirits, these being Ala, Amadiọha, Anyanwụ, Ekwensu, Ikenga, exists in the belief system, as it does in many other Traditional African religions, the lesser deities prevalent in Odinani expressly serve as helpers or elements of Chukwu, the central deity.
The Igbo people are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A sizable Igbo population is also found in Delta and Rivers States. Large ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, as well as outside Africa. There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, which are largely unknown. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River—an eastern and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
Chukwu is the supreme being of Igbo spirituality. In the Igbo pantheon, Chukwu is the source of all other Igbo deities and is responsible for assigning them their different tasks. The Igbo people believe that all things come from Chukwu, who brings the rain necessary for plants to grow and controls everything on Earth and the spiritual world. They believe Chukwu to be an undefinable omnipotent and omnipresent supreme deity that encompasses everything in space and space itself.
Ala is the female Alusi (deity) of the earth, morality, fertility, and creativity in Odinani. In Odinani, Ala rules over the underworld and holds the deceased ancestors in her womb. Her name literally translates to "ground" in the Igbo language, denoting her powers over the earth and her status as the ground itself. Ala is considered the highest Alusi in the Igbo pantheon. Ala's husband is Amadioha, the sky deity.
Igboland, also known as Southeastern Nigeria, is the indigenous homeland of the Igbo people. It is a cultural and common linguistic region in southern Nigeria. Geographically, it is divided by the lower Niger River into two sections: an eastern and a western one. Its population is characterised by the diverse Igbo culture and the speakers of equally diverse Igbo languages.
The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs, and festivals, include belief in an amount of higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme creator or force, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead, use of magic and traditional African medicine. Most religions can be described as animistic with various polytheistic and pantheistic aspects. The role of humanity is generally seen as one of harmonizing nature with the supernatural.
The history of the territories which since ca. 1900 have been known under the name of Nigeria during the pre-colonial period was dominated by a number of powerful West African kingdoms or empires, such as the Oyo Empire and the Islamic Kanem-Bornu Empire in the northeast, and the Igbo kingdom of Onitsha in the southeast and various Hausa-Fulani kingdoms.
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Arusi are spirits that are worshiped and served in the Igbo religion. There are many different Arusi and each has its own purpose and function.
Igbo Culture are the customs, practices and traditions of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. It consists of ancient practices as well as new concepts added into the Igbo culture either by cultural evolution or by outside influence. These customs and traditions include the Igbo people's visual art, music and dance forms, as well as their attire, cuisine and language dialects. Because of their various subgroups, the variety of their culture is heightened further.
The Ikwerre are one of the Igbo Subgroups in Rivers State. Traditional history has classified Ikwerre into seven groups called "Ikwerre Essa". They are Elele, Isiokpo, Rumuji, Emohua, Choba, Aluu Igwuruta and Obio group. This division was recognized by Forde and Jones; (1950) in their ethnographic study of the Igbo speaking peoples of South Eastern Nigeria. It was also in line with this grouping those seven customary Courts were established in Ikwerre during the Colonial administration. These Courts were located at Elele, Isiokpo, Rumuji, Emohua, Choba, Aluu and Obio in Ikwerreland.
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