Igbo Society and Culture

What do they believe? Describe their religious system and the hierarchy of Igbo cosmology.

The Igbo people believe in one supreme god as well as other minor gods that are generally portrayed to be spirits. First, lets start to talk of the Igbo Cosmology and define what that is. Cosmology is a system of ideas, opinions and conceptions of nature, society, humans and their places in the world. The Igbo people belief that there are various beings in the universe. They belief that humans inhabit the earth, fmeanwhile, the supernatural beings inhabit the sky and lastly the spirits which include ancestors and other spirits inhabit under the earth. Also, they belief that Chineke, the almighty, lives in the sky along with other spirits like the sun, the moon, the sky, and the stars.  The supreme god is the one that has the highest powers and it is referred to as Chukwu so that it is not confused with other minor gods. The minor gods are subject to human passion and weaknesses because at one point they can either be kind or treacherous. These gods include: Ala, the earth goddess (has to do with the fertility of lands in Earth), Anyanwu is the sun god which makes crops and is responsible for the growth of plants, and finally Igwe is the god of the sky and is the source of rain. Furthermore, the Igbo society believes in the concept of the “Chi” which is thought to be a force of creation as everyone and everything has a Chi. It would be personal to every human but also it is perceived as a manifestation of Chukwu.

The hierarchy in the Igbo society consists of strength and skill. Titles are something that is required in the Igbo society and they are earned based on the success of the man. This means that if the man was a successful man with lots of strength and skill, then he had a title. Having a title was a sign of respect from other people in the community but it also a man with a tittle is placed higher in the social structure of Umuofia than someone like Okonkwo’s father who didn’t achieve anything. The egwugwu are signs of culture and independence in Umuofia because they are seen as ancestral gods, though they are just masked Umuofia elders. The primary role of the egwugwu is to listen to complaints and work as judges in the community to have some respect. 

Finally, there are 2 classes of people in Igbo society and those are: Nwadiala and Osu. The Nwadiala are the freeborn meanwhile, the Osu are the slaves and untouchables. There is no connection between both of them as the Osu are not permitted to party with the Nwadiala and that is why it could be said that they are considered inferior human beings.