From: Odinani: The Sacred Sciences of the Igbo People <no-reply@wordpress.com>
Date: 14 September 2011 23:00
Subject: [New post] A Monologue with an Omenka
To: toyin.adepoju@googlemail.com
 | A Monologue with an Omenka Omenka Egwuatu Nwa-Ikenga | September 14, 2011 at 6:00 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pZaZY-iL |
It has occurred to me that this blog has been up and running for just over a year, and so I figured that this would be a great opportunity to introduce myself and tell how this blog came to be.
My name is Omenka Egwuatu Nwa-Ikenga. Omenka is not really a name, but a title that translates to doer of art. Egwuatu is my fathers name, that means fearless, which he passed down to me. Nwa-Ikenga means child of Ikenga, which all Igbo people are, but I have pledged to live my life by the principles of Ikenga, which represents my highest self.
Ikenga
This is not the only name that I go by, and there are others that know me by other ones. However, none of them is more valid than the other, and the name that I choose to use is dependent on the way I choose to portray myself to the world at the moment. A good analogy to my different names would be Kal-El, Clark Kent, and Superman. All three names are equally valid, depending on the context and the situation.
Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El
I was born sometime between January 15, 1970 and December 26,1991 in Washington District of Columbia, United States of America, the first of four children, which made me the okpara of my family. Both of my parents are also omenkas and a lot of my talents were inherited from them.
Besides what she does for a living, my mother is a singer, a dancer, a playwright and an actress. I inherited only the last two talents from her. She is a daughter of Agukwu-Nri, which was a holy city of Igbo people, and home to the Ozo holy men that went around Alaigbo cleansing abominations and stopping conflicts.
My mom in her younger days leading the pack
My father is also an omenka, and his talent happens to be in public speaking and storytelling. I would say that my father is perhaps the greatest storyteller I have ever heard. He is so great of a storyteller that he often believes the stories he tells. I inherited his imagination, speaking ability and storytelling prowess. He is a son of Arochukwu by means of Aro-Egbu, an Aro settlement in present day Egbuoma. My great- grandfather was one of the people who helped found the settlement. The Arochukwu people were another powerhouse group of Igbos who were known for their trading, for their great oracle Kamalu Chukwu Abiama, also known as Ibini Ukpabi, as well as the introduction of the Ekpe society into Igboland.
Both Ozo and Ekpe are in my lineage, and since they can be passed down through ancestry, I am eligible to gain access to them. In the near future I will return home to claim my birthright, and will be able to enhance the abilities that my Chi gave me. In particular, I am looking forward to meeting Ekpe in the bush.
Mask of Ekpe
As a child, I was interested in astronomy, mythology, comic book characters, books of all kind, world history, art, video games, music, sports, and a lot of the other things that a male child born and raised in the United States would be interested in. I discovered my talents and passions very early in life and was given ample opportunity to develop them through participation in dramas, literature competitions, open mics, talent & cultural shows and various school projects.
I also struggled with my identity growing up, and having Igbo parents, but being raised in an American society left me with several voids. For one, I was missing the Nigerian experience because of not being raised there or being taught as much about it as I would want or even visiting there frequently enough. And number two, for obvious reasons, I couldn't really have the same African American experience that many of my friends had. It would take me several years before I became balanced in my identity and become comfortable just being myself.
"Other African Americans"
I was raised in a Christian home like most Igbos born nowadays. Although I was raised Pentecostal, both sides of my family have mostly been Anglican for a few generations, with some playing key leadership positions in the Anglican Church Missionary Society (also known as the CMS). If I had decided to remain a traditional Christian, I most likely would have aspired to follow in their footsteps. Nonetheless, I have admiration and respect for the service to their communities as well as the educational opportunities that the CMS has offered through the years.
My voracious appetite for books lead me to learn more about the history behind the Bible, and Christianity as a whole. I eventually became dissatisfied with mainstream Christianity and began to start studying the esoteric paths of the religion, which is truly the narrow road that few travel on. I studied Gnostic Christianity as well as Kabbalah, and was able to see the symbolic messages of the Bible.
The Tree of Life
I then began to study Sufism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and many other different POVs. The study of all of these paths eventually lead me back to my ancestral one, which I realized was just as valid as any other one. Regardless, I feel that people should follow whatever path brings them joy and fulfillment.
The things that I read also helped me to get more clarity to my life experiences as well. Since I was a child, I have had a number of different insights as well as spiritual experiences that I could not explain at the time. One event in particular happened when I was around 5 and left me seeing certain things that others do not. My experiences and research has helped me, as well as many other people, that have not had explanations for some of the more peculiar things happening in their life.
Around my birthday in 2010, I received a message from Ani, the Earth Mother in a dream, in the form of a symbol. From that day on, I began to receive more symbols from a number of different sources, as well as connect the dots to several things. In fact, I was gaining so many insights so fast that I felt that I was going crazy. I couldn't even concentrate in class. So to keep myself from going insane, I decided to start to start this blog and help myself to process it all.
Nsibidi symbol for Ani
Since then, I have received several messages and insights in many forms, and I have tried my best to share them with the world. And to be honest with you, I have actually been the person who has benefited the most from this blog. It has caused me to receive alot of important messages and see things more clearly. And it also has been a source of therapy for me. In fact, all through my life, writing itself has been therapeutic for me, and I really do feel that if I did not do it, I would either go into depression or into insanity. One of my aspirations is to become trained as a writing therapist so that I can aid others in healing from their emotional wounds as well as uncovering their talents and life purpose through expressive writing.
The Odinani blog is a result not only of my insights, but information and wisdom I have received from conversations and personal relationships with a number of people including (but not limited to) the Ekpe Society USA, Dr. Nnedi Okorafor, Ebele Chizea, Chief Ikenna & Dr. Uwa Osimiri, Nwaonishe Ezenwanyi, Udee Onyioha, Dr. Ozodi Osuiji, the Omenala Artists Collective, Dibia Oscar Mokeme, Obinna Ozoigbo, Lazarus Emenogu, Ms. Ezi, Dibia Patrick Iroegbu, Odi Okaka Oquosa , Papa CE, Chuwkuka Omenigbo-Nwafor, Rowland Egolum, Nwabueze Okoye, Emmanuel Anizoba and the rest of the Odinani listserve members, Dr. Maduawuchi Stan Ogbonna, Dr. Sylvanus A. Enworom, Wise, Baba Awotunde, Nana Kwabena Brown and the Temple of Nyame, and most importantly, YOU! Without you reading this blog, commenting, and sharing it with your friends, it could not have developed. I hope you have nearly gained as much from it as I have in this past year and years to come. Yagazie (May we prosper)!
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