FUNDAMENTALS
OF IGBO RELIGION THAT HAS NO FANATICAL DOCTRINES AND DOGMAS THAT GIVE RISE TO
CRUSADES
- AGUNABU UMUELECHI
- And in our scientific age, we do
not need armchair philosophers any more. They have done us enough damage.
See the current
- Send all your replies to email; agunabu1948@gmail.com
This Zionist symbol is to be modified
With nine tree branches and a triangle in a circle
- The highest number in numerology worldwide is nine and
- The highest fine levied for crimes and offered to the Ultimate
Spirit for absolution
- In ritual worship in Igbo land nine kola nuts and nine alligator
peppers is used and finally
- The same number applies to presents given in obeisance to the
highest titled men.
The Igbo has no name for the Ultimate Giver
of Life! All we have are appellations that describe the superlative traits of
this Consummate Spirit that created, creates and will still continue to create
and sustain all the beings, visible and invisible, for ages in the future;
- Chi-na-eke:
the ultimate spirit that creates
- Chi-ukwu: the greatest spirit
- Obasi
bi n-elu: the omnipotent that lives on high
- Ama-di-oha:
the supreme husband of all
- Ogara-nya
ngada-nga: the wealthiest of the rich
- Ugwu
ana-ari-atu egwu: the highest mountain that is climbed with trepidation
- Ogbajiri
igwe kpoo ya nku: He that breaks steel and calls it dry wood
- Utu
na agba igwe: bacteria that eats up iron, i.e. potent ant that tears iron
to shreds
- Ogbu
onye mbosi ndu n’ato ya oto: he that snuffs life off the arrogant
In our culture, one can only give
names to what one owns, has authority over and can dispose of at will! It is
not right to give any name to the creator; we describe what he is and does;
“Chi-na-eke”, meaning; “the divine spirit that creates” or “Chi-Ukwu”; the
Ultimate Spirit! Therefore, I conclude
this prelude thus: May Our Chineke prosper the work of your hands and provide divine
guidance and protection for your spouses and children. I share in this last
prayer and hope that all is well for those who love Chukwu, the Lord that gives
us love and children may always be diligent in obeying His marriage laws! Amen!
Whereas other nations and cultures built
places of worship for their religions, the Igbo know that the sky is the dome
of the Creator and his illuminating lights are the sun, moon and stars. The
grooves or open squares well planned and decorated are our places of worship
come rain come shine! Most devotional rituals are done in moonlighting periods
as it is cool and lasts the whole night. Above are edifices other major world
religions built. For the Igbo, no human engineered structure is good enough to
be the abode of the supreme spirit that owns the sky, the land and the sea. He
is worshipped in the open!
PANTHEON IN RENASIGBOREL NEEDS
MODERNISATION
The most widely worshiped deity of the Igbo was
clearly the Earth goddess, ALA
Thus she became the deity that must be placated first
for protection before one is clean enough to approach Chineke or else face the
wrath of Amadioha, the god of thunder and lightning, the disciplinarian. She is represented by a nursing mother in sculptures and
painting. Mud statues of a Breastfeeding Mother was used earlier, today, Renascent
Igbo Religion RIR uses this tripartite symbol of a family to depict her;
The Greatest Gift of the Chi-na-eke
It is impossible to enumerate all the lesser deities
our forebears had, many of whom are now mere names to us. Among them were the
spirits of many mountains, rivers, springs, respected ancestors, and reputable
warriors, past kings and queens who had “become gods” at death. Demons also
existed in pre-colonial era as malevolent spirits under the command of
Amadioha, the disciplinarian. Sickness and misfortune were ascribed either to
these demons, to sorcery or to divine retribution.
Gods
and men
The gods were imagined to have their own lives, though
also needing the service of their worshipers, who in turn were dependent on the
gods for their well-being. They lived in their temples, where they had to be
fed, clothed, washed, and entertained. Part of their time, however, might be
spent in heaven or in roaming the sea or the mountains. They might withdraw in
anger and so cause life on Earth to wither and cease. One of the most
characteristic rituals of the Hittites was the invocation by which a god who
had absented himself was induced to return and attend to his duties by a
combination of prayer and magic.
The relation between man and god resembled that
between a servant and his master. “If a servant has committed an offence his
master may do with him whatever he pleases; but if he repentantly confesses his
guilt before everyone and his master, because he has confessed his guilt
publicly. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Both the community’s spirit is appeased and master's anger is cooled and he
will not call that servant to account.” Confession and expiation form the main
theme of the extant royal prayers.
THE
IGBO THEORY & PRACTICE OF “NSO ANI”
A
literal ‘one-for-word’ translation of the concept is ‘reverence earth’, whose
real import implies “Total Reverence for the Prescriptions of the Sacred Earth
Goddess and Avoidance of her Proscriptions” is the sum total of
all the religiosity in Igbo land.
Although the pre-scientific metaphysics of
the people of Biafra will definitely need
updating, their Pristine Social Ethics will never need any existential change
despite the whirlwind of foreign religions raging all around them! This is not
only the opinion of this author but that of many intellectuals who affirm that
the corrupting influence of both Westernisation and Catholicism will never
erase the respect, adoration and loyalty NSO ANI enjoys in the hearts of
liberated and self-actualised indigenes of the Igbo land! Authentic natives
still live by NSO ANI in their private lives and transmit its mores and norms
to their children by words and deeds!
To date, when all other religious abracadabra
fail to heal an erring son or daughter of Biafra, resort is made to the
pristine modes of cleansing the individual of the guilt he or she had earned by
desecrating the natural laws of the Earth Goddess. No amount of religious
imperialism or psychosocial politicisation of Igbo traditional religion can
ever successfully replace the respect that NSO ANI enjoys in Biafra .
WHAT IS ‘NSO ANI’ IN PRACTICAL TERMS
In one phrase, it is TOTAL OBEDIENCE TO
NATURAL LAWS. This was, has been and will ever remain the authentic religion of
past, present and future genuine religion of true children of CHI-NEKE,
CHI-UKWU, OBASI-BI-N’ELU!
DR JIDEOFO KENECHUKWU DANMBAEZUE AFFIRMS THUS;
TO DATE, AMADIOHA, THE
DISCIPLINARIAN GOD OF THUNDER & LIGHTNING STILL CARRIES OUT THE PUNISHMENT
OF GRAVE VIOLATIONS OF NSO ANI IN THE ENTIRE LENGTH AND WIDTH OF THE THICK TROPICAL
IGBO LAND
OF BIAFRA , WHETHER CHRISTIANISED OR ISLAMISED!
THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE OF BOTH WESTERNISATION AND CATHOLICISM WILL NEVER
ERASE THE RESPECT, ADORATION AND LOYALTY NSO ANI ENJOYS IN THE HEARTS OF
LIBERATED AND SELF-ACTUALISED INDIGENES OF THE IGBO LAND
SOCIAL MOBILITY IN IGBO LAND
THE
CHOICE OF A CEREMONIAL LEADER IS DEPENDENT ON THE SOCIAL LADDER ONE HAD
SUCCESSFULLY CLIMBED OR ACHIEVED IN LIFE APPROVED FOR KEEPING NSO ANI FROM
CHILDHOOD, BEING AN HONEST HARDWORKING MAN OR WOMAN WHO HAS BEEN PURE, CHASTE
AND DILIGENT BEFORE AND AFTER MARRIAGE TILL THE COMMUNITY RECOGNISES AND
RESPECTS ONE’S INDIVIDUAL MERIT TO LEAD. IT HAS NEVER BEEN BY INHERITANCE
BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF WHITE MEN ON OUR SHORES! TODAY ALL THAT HAS CHANGED!
THE DESECRATION OF OUR PRE-COLONIAL HIGH MORAL VALUES STARTED WITH THE
ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST WHITE MISSIONARIES IN WEST AFRICA .
WHAT THE NATIVES CALLED “NSO-ANI” WAS RE-BRANDED FORGIVEABLE SINS AND SO
WATERED DOWN THE SANCTITY OF RELIGIOUS VALUES IN BIAFRA .
ITS PARTNER, WESTERN EDUCATION NEATLY COMPLETED THE ‘COUP DE GRACE’ AS THE
FOREIGN CONCEPTS AND SOCIAL VALUES OF THE COLONIALISTS DESTROYED THE SOCIAL
ETHICS OF THE NATIVES AND RENDERED OUR PRISTINE MORES AND NORMS INEFFECTIVE. IN
SOME COMMUNITIES; “APING THE WHITE MAN’S DRESS CODE AND MANNERISMS BECAME
FASHIONABLE AND IGNORING THE CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS OF THE COMMUNITY WAS SEEN
AS THE CRITERION OF BEING EDUCATED AND MORE CIVILISED THAN THE ILLITERATE FOLKS
IN THE VILLAGES!
---------DR
JIDEOFO KENECHUKWU DANMBAEZUE, @ 30/06/2011 04:14:32 HRS GMT.
A
KENEZIAN EPILOGUE
DR KENEZ SUMMATION OF FAITH
FROM PREVIOUS RELIGIONS THAT CAN ENTHRONE REAL PEACE FOR CITIZENS OF THE GLOBAL
VILLAGE
There is
one supreme eternal reality; the truth; imminent in all things; creator of all
things; immanent in creation. Without fear and without hatred; not subject to
time; beyond birth and death; self-revealing. This Eternal Reality is known
only by the Divine Revelations from His Grace.
Faith
is ultimately the acceptance of the divine authority of the Omnipotent and
Omniscient Almighty Creator of the universe we share with all the other beings
he has made; micro/macrocosms, living and non-living beings that regularly obey
the natural and eternal laws he embedded in his creations for our mutual
benefits.
----Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez (1999)
By faith
is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds.
"Know, therefore, that only the LORD your Creator is the Ultimate Reality,
the Absolute Truth. Only he is the steadfast Godhead who keeps His gracious
covenant to the all who believe and trust in his everlasting love and fatherly
care for beings, seen and unseen to the tens, hundreds and thousandth
generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments." Hence, recognizing and affirming that this One Almighty Creator of
the entire Universe is our Father/Mother and therefore, only to this Creator is
total worship due. Our corporate willingness, commitment and submission
to this One Creator that exists guarantees all that are alive sustenance, and
to His prescriptions for living in accordance with his ordained eternal and
natural laws is surely the only assurance of living a good life assured to
anyone who (1) believes in Him, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads
a righteous life, will receive their recompense from the Lord. They have
nothing to fear, nor will they grieve."
------------- ISM Integrational Faith (2013)
FELLOWSHIP
OF TRUE CHILDREN OF THE CREATOR
Faith in Buddhism centres on the understanding that the Buddha
is an Awakened being, on his superior role as teacher, in the truth of his Dharma (spiritual teachings), and in his Sangha (community
of spiritually developed followers).
In the
teachings, saddhā is often described as:
·
a
conviction that something is
·
a
determination to accomplish one's goals
·
a
sense of joy deriving from the other two spiritual teachings and in community
of spiritually developed followers.
As a
counter to any form of "blind faith", the Buddha's teachings included
those included in the Kalama
Sutra, exhorting his disciples to investigate any
teaching and to live by what is learnt and accepted, rather than believing in
something simply because it is taught.
Meher Baba described
three types of faith, emphasizing the importance of faith in a spiritual
master:
"One of the most important
qualifications for the aspirant is faith. There are three kinds of faith: (i)
faith in oneself, (ii) faith in the Master and (iii) faith in life. Faith is so indispensable to life that unless it is present
in some degree, life itself would be impossible. It is because of faith that
cooperative and social life becomes possible. It is faith in each other that
facilitates a free give and take of love, a free sharing of work and its
results.
When life is burdened with unjustified fear
of one another it becomes cramped and restricted....Faith in the Master becomes
all-important because it nourishes and sustains faith in oneself and faith in
life in the very teeth of set-backs and failures, handicaps and difficulties,
limitations and failings. Life, as man knows it in himself, or in most of his
fellow-men, may be narrow, twisted and perverse, but life as he sees it in the
Master is unlimited, pure and untainted. In the Master, man sees his own ideal
realised; the Master is what his own deeper self would rather be. He sees in
the Master the reflection of the best in himself which is yet to be, but which
he will surely one day attain. Faith in the Master therefore becomes the chief
motive-power for realising the divinity which is latent in man."
Bertrand Russell noted, "Where there is evidence, no one speaks of
'faith'. We do not speak of faith that two and two are four or that the earth
is round. We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for
evidence."
THE HIGHEST ‘NZE na OZO’
TITLE IN IGBO CULTURE
Before the arrival of Western culture and imported
religions, The IGBOS had ‘OUTWARD
SIGNS OF INWARD GRACE! The sanctity of honest elders were noticed by the special hand-woven and colourful caps
that adorned their wise heads, the bronze or silver walking stick that aided
their weak frames and religio-cultural facial scarification that indicated to
all and sundry the ‘life of purity of thoughts, words and actions’. Observe the
relaxed mood, the nobility of composure, the achieved social status and
dignified social rank of this elder!
IGBU-ICHI is the
scarified architectural design that only the truthful, wealthy and wise elders
of old had/have on their faces. It was the real test of manhood and the
ultimate symbol of the highest title in the ‘Nze-na-Ozo’
title! Currently, many titled men cannot endure the carving of their faces into
the decorative designs done with very sharp ANCIENT
instruments with no pain-killing drugs
administered and devoid of local or general anaesthesia. One does not flinch
his face, show any discomfort, shed a tear or sweat throughout the three-hour
duration of the crude surgery.
The experts in
IGBU-ICHI were the highest paid doctors and retaining their three-week service
for the scars to heal was very exorbitant. The goats and chickens slaughtered
were uncountable as well as the tubers of yams they and their assistants were
fed on/with throughout the duration. Only the wealthy farmer could afford them!
Take another look at his face in any of the obituary pictures and see whether
you can count the number of the curved lines that arch
up-down-horizontal-vertical? Each of them took at least 10 minutes to carve!
Yet, the titled man MUST not show any sign of pain! If he did, the ceremony is
aborted! He becomes a disgrace in the immediate community if that happens and
might be stripped of all other titles he ever earned in life.
The present
descendants of the pre-western Igbo people do not know what it is, how much it
costs, who are qualified for it, what it symbolises nor its prestigious
socio-religious significance when ‘men were men and beautiful women were
married by the few who deserved them!’ By his
death, we have today lost
the last doyen of LION-HEARTED men of his genre in Ezeawara
town in particular and in the entire Igbo land in general, who
epitomised the pristine virtues of truthfulness, integrity, justice, fortitude,
patience and endurance of the highest order in the saintly lifestyle of our
revered forebears in pre-colonial periods when making a good name was worth
more prestigious than amassing wealth that is now in vogue!
- AGUNABU UMUELECHI
- And in our scientific age, we do
not need armchair philosophers anymore. They have done us enough damage.
See the current
• AGUNABU UMUELECHI BIAFRA categorically states that our forefathers lived holier lives than our generation is living. They were the contemporaries of Patriarch Enoch of Genesis Chapter 5. Both practised NSO–ANI, which is Total Obedience to the Almighty Creator’s Natural Laws!
ReplyDelete• And in our scientific age, we do not need armchair philosophers any more. They have done us enough damage. See the current ISIS mass religious psychopathology that is using on-line media to deceive youths worldwide to join them.
Send all your replies to email; agunabu1948@gmail.com
Before the arrival of Western culture and imported religions, The IGBOS had ‘OUTWARD SIGNS OF INWARD GRACE! The sanctity of honest elders were noticed by the special hand-woven and colourful caps that adorned their wise heads, the bronze or silver walking stick that aided their weak frames and religio-cultural facial scarification that indicated to all and sundry the ‘life of purity of thoughts, words and actions’. Observe the relaxed mood, the nobility of composure, the achieved social status and dignified social rank of this elder!
ReplyDeleteIGBU-ICHI is the scarified architectural design that only the truthful, wealthy and wise elders of old had/have on their faces. It was the real test of manhood and the ultimate symbol of the highest title in the ‘Nze-na-Ozo’ title! Currently, many titled men cannot endure the carving of their faces into the decorative designs done with very sharp ANCIENT instruments with no pain-killing drugs administered and devoid of local or general anaesthesia. One does not flinch his face, show any discomfort, shed a tear or sweat throughout the three-hour duration of the crude surgery.
Whereas other nations and cultures built places of worship for their religions, the Igbo know that the sky is the dome of the Creator and his illuminating lights are the sun, moon and stars. The grooves or open squares well planned and decorated are our places of worship come rain come shine! Most devotional rituals are done in moonlighting periods as it is cool and lasts the whole night. Above are edifices other major world religions built. For the Igbo, no human engineered structure is good enough to be the abode of the supreme spirit that owns the sky, the land and the sea. He is worshipped in the open!
ReplyDeleteWHAT IS ‘NSO ANI’ IN PRACTICAL TERMS
In one phrase, it is TOTAL OBEDIENCE TO NATURAL LAWS. This was, has been and will ever remain the authentic religion of past, present and future genuine religion of true children of CHI-NEKE, CHI-UKWU, OBASI-BI-N’ELU!
DR JIDEOFO KENECHUKWU DANMBAEZUE AFFIRMS THUS;
TO DATE, AMADIOHA, THE DISCIPLINARIAN GOD OF THUNDER & LIGHTNING STILL CARRIES OUT THE PUNISHMENT OF GRAVE VIOLATIONS OF NSO ANI IN THE ENTIRE LENGTH AND WIDTH OF THE THICK TROPICAL IGBO LAND OF BIAFRA, WHETHER CHRISTIANISED OR ISLAMISED! THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE OF BOTH WESTERNISATION AND CATHOLICISM WILL NEVER ERASE THE RESPECT, ADORATION AND LOYALTY NSO ANI ENJOYS IN THE HEARTS OF LIBERATED AND SELF-ACTUALISED INDIGENES OF THE IGBO LAND!
Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez; 03/03/2011@ 21:09:16HRS GMT