Editing Odinala (section)

==Beliefs==
[[File:-Remains of Long Juju Gorge, Arochuku-, late 19th century (imp-cswc-GB-237-CSWC47-LS2-041).jpg|thumb|alt=Magic lantern Image of the entrance to the cave of the Ibini Ukpabi oracle at [[Arochukwu]].|Entrance to the cave of the [[Ibini Ukpabi]] oracle at [[Arochukwu]], 1900s]]
Ọdịnala could loosely be described as a [[polytheistic]] and [[panentheism|panentheistic]] faith with a strong central spiritual force at its head from which all things are believed to spring; however, the contextual diversity of the system may encompass various theistic perspectives that derive from a variety of beliefs held within the religion.<ref name="echema2010"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Ikenga International Journal of African Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yAcOAQAAMAAJ|access-date=26 July 2013|year=1972|publisher=Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria.|page=103}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Peter Chiehiụra |last=Uzor |title=The traditional African concept of God and the Christian concept of God: Chukwu bụ ndụ-- God is life, the Igbo perspective |publisher=Peter Lang |page=194 |year=2004 |isbn=3631521456}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Cosmas Okechukwu |last=Obiego |title=African Image of the Ultimate Reality: An Analysis of Igbo Ideas of Life and Death in Relation to Chukwu-God |publisher=Peter Lang |page=88 |year=1984 |isbn=3820474609}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Charles A. |last=Ebelebe |title=Africa and the New Face of Mission: A Critical Assessment of the Legacy of the Irish Spiritans Among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria |publisher=Univiversity Press of America |page=24 |year=2009 |isbn=978-0761845966}}</ref><ref group=note>Benjamin Ray says of the position of African religions: 
<blockquote>But as we have seen, there are other elements [besides monotheistic ones] which tend towards polytheism or pantheism. What, we may ask, accounts for these different tendencies? As Evans-Pritchard and Peel suggest, they do not derive so much from different observers' standpoints as from the different standpoints within the religious systems themselves This, of course, does not mean that African religions consist of conflicting "system" (monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, totemism), which lack any inherent unity. Rather, the totality of elements in each religious system can be viewed from different internal perspectives according to different contextual alignments. What is misleading is to seize upon one perspective or tendency and make it the dominant framework. This may satisfy the observer's own theological preferences, e.g., monotheism, but only at the expense of over-systematizing the contextual diversity of African religious thought.</blockquote>
{{cite book |first=Benjamin C. |last=Ray |title=African Religions: Symbol, Ritual, and Community |publisher=Prentice-Hall |page=53 |year=1976 |isbn=0130186228}}</ref> Chukwu as the central deity is classed among the {{Transliteration|ig|ndi mmuo}}, 'invisible beings', an ontological category of beings which includes ''Ala'' the divine feminine earth force, ''chi'' the 'personal deity', {{Transliteration|ig|ndichie}} the ancestors, and {{Transliteration|ig|mmuo}} the minor spirits. The other ontological category consists of ''ndi mmadu'', 'visible beings', which include ''ánụ́'' animals, ''ósísí'' plants, and the final class ''ùrò'' which consists of elements, minerals and inanimate beings.<ref name="agbadiere">{{cite book |first=Joseph Thérèse |last=Agbasiere |title=Women in Igbo Life and Thought |publisher=Psychology Press |pages=48–64 |year=2000 |isbn=0415227038}}</ref> While various gods, the spirit class of Arusi, and ancestors are worshiped and prayed to; no sacrifices are given to Chukwu and no shrines and altars are erected for it.<ref name="agbadiere"/> If an Arusi is assigned to an individual, it becomes a chi, a personal guardian god/spirit.<ref name="wiredu"/>

Complex [[animism]] builds the core concept of most traditional African religions, including Odinala, this includes the worship of [[Tutelary deity|tutelary deities]], [[nature worship]], [[ancestor worship]] and the belief in an [[afterlife]]. While some religions adopted a [[Pantheism|pantheistic]] worldview, most follow a [[polytheistic]] system with various gods, spirits and other [[supernatural being]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kimmerle|first=Heinz|date=2006-04-11|title=The world of spirits and the respect for nature: towards a new appreciation of animism|journal=The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa|language=en-US|volume=2|issue=2|pages=15|doi=10.4102/td.v2i2.277|issn=2415-2005|doi-access=free}}</ref> Traditional African religions also have elements of [[fetishism]], [[shamanism]] and [[veneration of relics]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Asukwo|date=2013|title=The Need to Re-Conceptualize African Traditional Religion|url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/afrrev/article/download/91437/80924}}</ref>

[[Nigerian Americans|Nigerian American]] professor of indigenous African religions at [[Harvard University]], [[Jacob Olupona]] summarized the many traditional African religions as complex [[Animism|animistic]] religious traditions and beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic "colonization" of Africa. [[Ancestor worship|Ancestor veneration]] has always played a "significant" part in the traditional African cultures and may be considered as central to the African worldview. Ancestors (ancestral ghosts/spirits) are an integral part of reality. The ancestors are generally believed to reside in an ancestral realm (spiritworld), while some believe that the ancestors became equal in power to deities.<ref name="The spirituality of Africa">{{Cite web|date=2015-10-06|title=The spirituality of Africa|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/10/the-spirituality-of-africa/|access-date=2020-11-30|website=Harvard Gazette|language=en-US}}</ref>{{Blockquote|text=The defining line between deities and ancestors is often contested, but overall, ancestors are believed to occupy a higher level of existence than living human beings and are believed to be able to bestow either blessings or illness upon their living descendants.

Ancestors can offer advice and bestow good fortune and honor to their living dependents, but they can also make demands, such as insisting that their shrines be properly maintained and propitiated. A belief in ancestors also testifies to the inclusive nature of traditional African spirituality by positing that deceased progenitors still play a role in the lives of their living descendants.|author=|title=|source=}}Olupona rejects the western/Islamic definition of [[Monotheism]] and says that such concepts could not reflect the complex African traditions and are too simplistic. While some traditions have a supreme being (next to other deities), others have not. Monotheism does not reflect the multiplicity of ways that the traditional African spirituality has conceived of deities, gods, and spirit beings.<ref name="The spirituality of Africa"/>

Chukwuemeka Mbaegbu from the [[Nnamdi Azikiwe University]], [[Awka]], [[Nigeria]], describes the Igbo religion's system as "''Monopolytheism''", referring to the belief in many distinct gods and spirits, but with one distant and unpersonalized supreme force, which resulted in the creation of everything, but is not a god per definition.<ref name="Mbaegbu, Chukwuemeka 2015"/>

===Chi===
[[File:Chi shrine.jpg|thumb|alt=An interior photograph of a chi shrine with plates inset into the polished mud walls|Interior of a chi shrine at Nkarahia, southern Igboland, 1900s]]
In Odinani, the Igbo people believe that each person has their own personal spiritual guardian called Chi (or ''ḿmúọ́''), appointed to them before and at the time of their birth. The Chi remains with them for the rest of their lives on Earth. A person's Chi is the personification of that individual's fate, which is credited for an individual's life's successes, misfortunes and failures. The Igbo believe that their success in life is determined by their Chi, and that no man can rise past the greatness of his or her own Chi.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Achebe |first=Chinua |title=Chi in Igbo Cosmology from Morning Yet on Creation Day |publisher=Heinemann Educational |year=1975 |isbn=9780435180263 |location=London |pages=93–103}}</ref> In this respect, the concept of chi is analogous to the concept of a [[guardian angel]] in Christianity, the [[Daemon (classical mythology)|daemon]] in [[ancient Greek religion]], and the [[Genius (mythology)|genius]] in [[Religion in ancient Rome|ancient Roman religion]].<ref name="agbadiere"/><ref name="udeani2007"/><ref name="ndukaihe2006"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Opata|first=Damian Ugwutikiri|title=Essays on Igbo World View|publisher=AP Express Publishers|year=1998|isbn=9782001155|page=62}}</ref> Culturally, people are seen as the creators or makers of their own destiny.<ref name="wiredu">{{cite book |first=Kwesi |last=Wiredu |title=A Companion to African Philosophy |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |page=420 |year=2008 |isbn= 978-0470997376}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Molefi K. |last1=Asante |first2=Emeka |last2=Nwadiora |title=Spear Masters: An Introduction to African Religion |publisher=University Press of America |page=108 |year=2007 |isbn=978-0761835745 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QS3Y93DBe4QC&pg=PA108 |access-date=2015-04-04}}</ref><ref name="okoh2012">{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Okoh |title=Fostering Christian Faith in Schools and Christian Communities Through Igbo Traditional Values: Towards a Holistic Approach to Christian Religious Education and Catechesis in Igboland (Nigeria) |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |pages=37, 58 |year=2012 |isbn=978-3643901682 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04VwpwD7R_AC&pg=PA37 |access-date=2015-04-04}}</ref> The breath of life is in the heart, ''óbì''.<ref name="okoh2012" /><ref name="udeani2007">{{cite book |first=Chibueze C. |last=Udeani |title=Inculturation as Dialogue: Igbo Culture and the Message of Christ |publisher=Rodopi |page=35 |year=2007 |isbn=978-9042022294 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VGjKp-7FyGIC&pg=PA35 |access-date=2015-04-04}}</ref><ref name="ndukaihe2006">{{cite book |first=Vernantius Emeka |last=Ndukaihe |title=Achievement as Value in the Igbo/African Identity: The Ethics |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |pages=185–187 |year=2006 |isbn=3825899292 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERM77W_wgZYC&pg=PA187 |access-date=2015-04-04}}</ref><ref name="uzukwu2012">{{cite book |first=Elochukwu Eugene |last=Uzukwu |title=God, Spirit, and Human Wholeness: Appropriating Faith and Culture in West African Style |publisher=Wipf and Stock |pages=63, 123 |year=2012 |isbn=978-1610971904 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HPdMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 |access-date=2015-04-04}}</ref> Chi can be masculine and feminine. A ''Dibia'' can identify a person's chi through divination (''ájà'') and advise adherents of ways to placate it.<ref name="cole1982">{{cite book|last=Cole|first=Herbert M.|title=Mbari: Art and the Life Among the Owerri Igbo|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1982|isbn=0253303974}}</ref><ref name="Talbot1916">{{cite journal|last=Talbot|first=P. Amaury|date=July 1916|title=Some Beliefs of To-day and Yesterday (Niger-Delta Tribes.)|journal=Journal of the Royal African Society|publisher=The Royal African Society|volume=15|issue=60|pages=307–308}}</ref> ''Éké'' is one's ancestral guardian spirit but exists at the periphery of human life and remains a mystery to the people.<ref name="cole1982"/> Households usually contain a shrine for veneration of the Chi, which could be focused on a tree. In marriage a woman takes her chi shrine along with all her belongings to her matrimonial home.<ref name="agbadiere"/> A shrine to ones chi is set up at daybreak to summon the spirit from the sun. The shrine of an individual's chi is destroyed when they die.<ref name=":0" /> Around Nkarahia, in southern Igboland, there are the most elaborate chi shrines which are decorated with colourful china plates inset into the clay walls of the chi shrine building; the altars hold sacred emblems, while the polished mud benches hold offerings of china, glass, [[manillas]], and food.<ref name="Talbot1916"/> As a marker of personal fortune or misfortune, good acts or ill, chi can be described as a focal point for 'personal religion'.<ref name="agbadiere"/>

===Cosmology===
The community of visible interacting beings and the cosmos is referred to as ''ụ̀wà'', which includes all living things ''íhẹ́ ndi dị́ ńdụ̀'', including animals and vegetation and their mineral elements which possess a vital force and are regarded as counterparts to invisible forces in the spirit world.<ref name="agbadiere"/> These living things and geomorphological features of the world therefore possess a guardian deity. Igbo cosmology presents a balance between the feminine and masculine, perhaps, with a preponderance of female representation in Igbo lore.<ref name="agbadiere"/> In Igbo cosmology, the world was divided into four corners by the high god corresponding to ''èké'' ''órìè'' ''àfọ̀'' ''ǹkwọ́'' which are the days of the week in the [[Igbo calendar]] regarded as market days.<ref name="ukaegbu">{{cite journal |first=Jọn Ọfọegbu |last=Ụkaegbu |title=Igbo Identity and Personality Vis-à-vis Igbo Cultural Symbols |publisher=Pontifical University of Salamanca |page=60 |year=1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Israel |last1=Anyahuru |first2=Tom |last2=Ohiaraumunna |title=Musical Sense and Musical Meaning: An Indigenous African Perception |publisher=Rozenberg Publishers |page=56 |year=2009}}</ref> The universe is regarded as a composite of bounded spaces in an overlapping hemispherical structure, the total spaces are referred to as ''élú nà àlà''.<ref name="agbadiere"/> In one Igbo cosmological theory reported by W.R.G. Morton in the 1950s from an elder in Ibagwa Nike in northern Igboland, Chukwu sees that the sun travels across the world in the day time and then cuts into two in order for the moon to pass on a perpendicular route, and so the world is divided into four parts and four days.<ref name="ukaegbu"/> The quarterly division of the earth and the days makes the number four sacred (''ńsọ́'') to the Igbo.<ref name="ukaegbu"/><ref name="morton">{{cite journal |first=W. R. G. |last=Morton |title=God, man and the land in a Northern Ibo village-group |journal=African Abstracts |volume=7-9 |publisher=International African Institute |page=15 |year=1956}}</ref> The ''élú nà àlà'' space is defined by two boundaries: ''élú ígwé'', 'sky's limit' composed of heavenly bodies under the main forces of the 'masculine' sun and 'feminine' moon, and ''élú àlà'', 'earth or lands limit' consisting of the four material elements of fire and air (masculine), and earth and water (feminine).<ref name="agbadiere"/>

[[File:Ogbo Obodo.jpg|thumb|left|200px|alt=Picture of figures drawn in chalk on the ground|Ogbo Obodo figures for the cult of Nkpetime, near [[Asaba, Delta|Asaba]], 1900s]]
The pattern of two and four recur in Chukwu's creations.<ref name="morton"/> The days correspond to the four cardinal points and are its names in Igbo, èké east, órìè west, àfọ̀ north, ǹkwọ́ south.<ref>{{cite book |author=Isichei, Elizabeth Allo |title=A History of African Societies to 1870 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofafrican00isic |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofafrican00isic/page/247 247] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1997 |isbn=0-521-45599-5}}</ref> The Nri-Igbo claim the market days to have been introduced to the Igbo by their divine progenitor and king [[Eri (king)|Eri]] in the 9th century after encountering the days as deities.<ref name="chigere2001">{{cite book |first=Nkem Hyginus M. V. |last=Chigere |title=Foreign Missionary Background and Indigenous Evangelization in Igboland |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |pages=20, 56 |year=2001 |isbn= 3825849643}}</ref> These Arusi are venerated as the primary or as a major deity under Chineke in parts of Igboland. In terms of hierarchy, some communities recognise èké as the head of these Arusi, while others prioritise órìè and ǹkwọ́ first after the high god.<ref name="chigere2001"/> Market days may have local deities representing the spirits in some places, in many southern Igbo towns Agwu is the patron of Eke, Ogwugwu the patron of Orie, Amadioha the patron of Afọ and Ala for Nkwọ.<ref name="ukaegbu"/>

The Cosmos itself is divided into "four constituent complexes" known as ''Okike'', ''Alusi'', ''Mmuo'', and ''Uwa''. Okike is the event of "Creation", the Alusi are the lesser deities, Mmụọ are the spirits of the Ancestors and all other beings, and Uwa is the World.<ref>Onwuejeogwu, 1975: The Igbo Culture Area in "Igbo Language and Culture," F. Chidozie Ogbalu & E Nolue Emenanjo</ref>

===Justice===
{{main|Ogu na Ofo}}
Ọfọ and ogụ́ is a law of [[retributive justice]]. It vindicates anyone that is wrongly accused of a crime as long as their "hands are clean". It is only a person who is on the righteous side of ''Ọfọ-na-Ogụ́'' that can call its name in prayer, otherwise such a person will face the wrath of Amadiọha (the god of thunder and lightning).<ref>{{cite book |first=Christopher I. |last=Ejizu |title=Ofo: Igbo Ritual Symbol |publisher=Fourth Dimension Publishers |year=1986 |isbn=9781562684}}</ref> [[Kola nut]] is used in ceremonies honour Chukwu, chi, Arusi and ancestors and is used as a method of professing innocence when coupled with libations. The Igbo often make clay altars and shrines of their deities which are sometimes [[anthropomorphic]], the most popular example being the wooden statues of Ikenga. Typically, only men are allowed to make representational figures of supernatural forces.<ref>T. Phillips (ed.) [https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/c/ceramic_altar_for_the_new_yam.aspx "Ceramic altar for the new yam harvest festival"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019020939/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/c/ceramic_altar_for_the_new_yam.aspx |date=19 October 2015 }}, ''BritishMuseum.org'', London, April 03, 2010</ref>

===Afterlife and reincarnation===
{{see also|Igbo name}}
The Igbo traditionally believe in an [[afterlife]] in the [[Spirit world (Spiritualism)|spirit world or dimension]], where the deceased ancestors exist, and may influence the material world and their descendants. Ancestors are protectors and guardians of ones lineage, close friends and heritage, and may become to higher spirits (semi-gods), as in the case of many other traditional religions of the world.<ref name="Nwauwa">{{Cite book|last1=Nwauwa|first1=Apollos O.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hpu4DwAAQBAJ&dq=il%E1%BB%8D-uwa+igbo&pg=PA182|title=Culture, Precepts, and Social Change in Southeastern Nigeria: Understanding the Igbo|last2=Anyanwu|first2=Ogechi E.|date=2019-10-24|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4985-8969-7|language=en}}</ref> Sometimes however, ancestors may reincarnate into families that they were part of while alive.<ref name="nnam2007">{{cite book|last=Nnam|first=Nkuzi Michael|title=Colonial Mentality in Africa|publisher=Hamilton Books|year=2007|isbn=978-1461626305|pages=69–70}}</ref> This is called ''ilọ-uwa.'' Reincarnation is seldom, but may happen occasionally, if a deceased person cannot enter the spirit world for various reasons or may be absorbed into a new-born if it would die immediately after birth.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Short|first1=J.A.|last2=Pedersen|first2=O.|last3=Kendrick|first3=G.A.|date=October 2015|title=Turf algal epiphytes metabolically induce local pH increase, with implications for underlying coralline algae under ocean acidification|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2015.08.006|journal=Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science|volume=164|pages=463–470|doi=10.1016/j.ecss.2015.08.006|issn=0272-7714|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Unlike in [[Hinduism]], humans can only be reincarnated as humans.<ref name="nnam2007"/> Families hire fortune-tellers to reveal if the child harbours the soul or an aspect of an ancestor; the baby is sometimes named after this relative.<ref name="nnam2007"/> The personality of the ancestor is not identical to the child's but rather the concept establishes a vital relationship with the child and characteristics of the ancestor.<ref name="udoye">{{cite book|first=Edwin Anaegboka |last=Udoye |title=Resolving the Prevailing Conflicts Between Christianity and African (Igbo) Traditional Religion Through Inculturation |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |pages=45–53, 104 |year=2011 |isbn=978-3643901163}}</ref> Other signs can be certain behaviors, physical traits, and statements by the child. A diviner can help in detecting if the child has reincarnated from an ancestor and may identify this ancestor. It is considered an insult if a male is said to have been reincarnated as a female.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ancestors |first=William Hare |last=Newell |pages= 293–294 |isbn=90-279-7859-X |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1976 |chapter=Ancestoride! Are African Ancestors Dead? |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cjpDp5ckvv8C&pg=PA293}}</ref> An ancestor (or aspects of the ancestor) may be reincarnated in multiple people, in which case the reincarnations share a mortal bond; upon the death of one person, it is believed that the others may die a sudden death if they see the corpse.<ref name="Nwauwa"/>

====Ogbanje====
{{Main|Ogbanje}}
An ''ọgbanje'' is a reincarnating [[evil spirit|evil or revengeful spirit]], that would deliberately plague a family with misfortune. In folklore, the ''ọgbanje'', upon being born by the mother, would deliberately die after a certain amount of time (usually before [[puberty]]) and then come back and repeat the cycle, causing the family grief. This time period varies between minutes, hours, days and years. [[Igbo culture#Female circumcision|Female circumcision]] was sometimes thought to get rid of the evil spirit. Finding the evil spirit's ''[[Iyi-uwa]]'', which is buried in a secret location, would ensure that the ''ọgbanje'' would never plague the family with misfortune again. The ''Iyi-uwa'' is a stone that the ''ọgbanje's'' way of coming back to the human world and is also a way of finding its targeted family. The stone is usually buried deep enough to not have been hidden by a child. The ''iyi-uwa'' is dug out by a priest and destroyed. Female ''ọgbanje'' die during pregnancies along with the baby, male ''ọgbanje'' die before the birth of a wife's baby or the baby dies. The child is confirmed to no longer be an ''ọgbanje'' after the destruction of the stone or after the mother successfully gives birth to another baby.<ref name="nnam2007" />