Religion is a Crucial Part of the Ibo Village
People go to see the Oracle when they hit misfortune or have a dispute with their nieghbors. They also go to "discover what the future held for them or to consult the spirits of their departed fathers" (pg. 16). The Oracle lives in a shrine in a round hole at the side of a hill. Agbala, the Oracle, has a priestess who stands by the sacred fire in the heart of the cave.
Also, everyone has a chi, or a personal god, who determines if you have a good or bad fortune (ch. 3). It is said that "a man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi" (pg. 131). A saying of the elders is "if a man said yea his chi also affirmed" (pg. 131).
The people of the village believe in one god, Chukwu, and the other smaller gods are just his messangers (ch. 21). Chukwu "appoints the smaller gods to help Him because His work is too great for one person" (pg. 180). Some of the smaller gods might be connected to rain making, hunting, farming, or trading. The Ibo people have a Week of Peace before they plant crops. They do this in honor of Ani, the Earth goddess In the past, people would be killed for violating the Week of Peace. It is a disgrace if one disrupts the peace (ch. 4).
The silk cotton tree is sacred in their culture. It is said that it houses the spirits of children that are waiting to be born (ch. 6). The Ibo people believe in the obanje. The obanje is a child that keeps dying; they believe that it is an evil spirit of a child that keeps coming back again (ch. 9).
The egwugwu is "a masquerader who impersonates one of the ansestral spirits of its village" (A Glossary of Ibo Words and Phrases). All the Ibo people respect and (in most cases) fear the egwugwu (ch. 10) The egwugwu's were "the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan" (pg. 88), and they were like the government in the village. If there was a dispute that needed to be resolved, it was brought to the egwugwu ancestors. They were also a part of most of the important ceremonies.
Added by Renee Conrath
Also, everyone has a chi, or a personal god, who determines if you have a good or bad fortune (ch. 3). It is said that "a man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi" (pg. 131). A saying of the elders is "if a man said yea his chi also affirmed" (pg. 131).
The people of the village believe in one god, Chukwu, and the other smaller gods are just his messangers (ch. 21). Chukwu "appoints the smaller gods to help Him because His work is too great for one person" (pg. 180). Some of the smaller gods might be connected to rain making, hunting, farming, or trading. The Ibo people have a Week of Peace before they plant crops. They do this in honor of Ani, the Earth goddess In the past, people would be killed for violating the Week of Peace. It is a disgrace if one disrupts the peace (ch. 4).
The silk cotton tree is sacred in their culture. It is said that it houses the spirits of children that are waiting to be born (ch. 6). The Ibo people believe in the obanje. The obanje is a child that keeps dying; they believe that it is an evil spirit of a child that keeps coming back again (ch. 9).
The egwugwu is "a masquerader who impersonates one of the ansestral spirits of its village" (A Glossary of Ibo Words and Phrases). All the Ibo people respect and (in most cases) fear the egwugwu (ch. 10) The egwugwu's were "the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan" (pg. 88), and they were like the government in the village. If there was a dispute that needed to be resolved, it was brought to the egwugwu ancestors. They were also a part of most of the important ceremonies.
Added by Renee Conrath
