Courlander, H. (1996).A Treasury of Afro-American
Folklore:The Oral Literature,Traditions,
Recollections,Legends,Tales,Songs,Religious
Beliefs,Customs,Sayings,and Humor of Peoples of
African Descent in the Americas(2nd ed.).
New York: Marlowe & Company.
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Ile Yoruba. Ibadan, Nigeria: Onibonoje Press.
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Oxford University Press.
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Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press.
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Meanings and Expressions. New York: Herder & Herder.
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of Knowing.Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
IGBO
The Igbo people are located primarily in the south-
eastern area of Nigeria and constitute one of Africa’s
largest ethnic groups, with a population of approxi-
mately 25 million. Although the large majority of
Igbo people live in the southeastern part of Nigeria,
Igbos are also found in neighboring countries, such
as Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Niger.
The migration paths the Igbos walked to get to
their current territory in southeastern Nigeria is
still a debated issue. According to one theory, the
Igbo people could have migrated to West Africa
from as far away as Egypt thousands of years ago.
Traditionally, Igbos have placed a great empha-
sis on land and farming, and this, coupled with
their will to work hard, helped shape their mental
and spiritual frame of reference, to this day. In this
culture, working the land and tilling the soil is
seen as making a person closer to the good Earth
and nearer to the generous God. It can be said that
the Igbos have developed, through time, an effec-
tive religious system that sustains them. This entry
looks at their belief system and at their experience
during the time of slavery.
Religious BeliefsThe Igbo religious way of life promotes a personal
and positive connection with their family and
people, nature, water, the Earth, the sun, the
universe, fire, and God/Goddess. According to
Igbo cosmology, two worlds exist—spiritual and
physical. The two worlds are distinct, although
also deeply interrelated and interdependent. The
spirit world is inhabited by at least four distin-
guishable sets of entities.
First are the spirits that have become discon-
nected from the physical bodies at the time of
death, Ndichie(Ancestors). Some of them have
reached their destination and lay in the spiritual
space of good spirits. Others, in contrast, who
have failed to do so sometimes make incursions
into the physical world and cause misfortunes
among the living. The second set of entities is
personal spirits,Chi- (Guardian). The Igbo believe
that every human has been endowed with aChiat
the time of their birth. The Chi is responsible for
the source of life and destiny of the individual.
The third set of entities is the spirits connected
with nature and nonhuman entities,Alusi. Those,
such as the Earth, the sky, the sun, and the water,
never had physical human bodies. Finally, the
fourth set of spirits is evil spiritsUla Chi(“adver-
sary of Chi”), andAkaloglii. The Igbos believe
those evil spirits to be humans who became com-
pletely wicked and enjoy inflicting pain and grief
on humans. Whereas offerings and sacrifices are
bestowed to all of the spirits in the Igbo cosmol-
ogy to appease them for blessings and protection,
evil ones are not granted such an honor. Instead,
they are given the least and worthless items to
keep them at a distance to prevent havoc in fami-
lies and the society as a whole.
The Supreme Being in Igbo mythology is
addressed asChukwuorChineke.Chukwuis a
compound word from Chi (“personal guiding
spirit”) andukwu(“big”), which can be trans-
lated as “the big or great Chi.”Chinekeis also a
compound word from Chi (“personal guiding
spirit”),na(“who”), andeke(“to share out”),
which can be translated as “supreme being who
shares.” The Igbo traditional and ancient reli-
gious system is centered around the belief that
there is a single, unique, and individual spiritual
being who is the foremost provider and on
whom, as a result, all living things are ultimately
dependent for guidance, blessings, love, protec-
tion, support, and so on. Chukwu is not catego-
rized as either a male or female spiritual entity.Igbo 333