'it might be interesting to cite text (oral or written) in which the claims for the identity of chukwu and the sun are articulated in prayers or sayings etc.'
"Anyanwu, the sun deity, is regarded as one of the manifestations of the Supreme Being" as an explanatory note before quoting the following "Prayer for Recovery of the Sick" on p.327, to Anyanwu, where Chineke- the supreme being as creator, as earlier invoked in another prayer, "Invocations of God, Deities and Ancestors" on page 323-- and Anyanwu seem conflated in the third stanza:
Nwannem nwoke no n'oya,
Anyanwu!
My brother is ill, Anyanwu!
Ana'm ago ihe ndia, ka
onweghachie ahu ike.
And I perform these rites to
bring him back to life.
Ngi Anyanwu, Chineke,
May you, Anyanwu,
Chineke,
Na ndi Iche nine
Mee nu ka onweghachie,
ahu ike
And all the ancestors,
Grant that he may be
restored to health.
He describes this rite as Ndayo, "bringing down" the spirit of the sick person which may have begun to ascend to Anyanwu. Achebe in his Chi essay describes another rite that brings down the individual chi from the face of the sun at daybreak as a coming of age ritual, helping to build Achebe's Chukwu-Chi-sun/daybreak correlation.
The "Invocations of God, Deities and Ancestors" that Ikenga-Metuh quotes is close to, if not identical with a similar daybreak prayer described by Ogonna Agu in his introduction, where he identifies Anyanwu as a name of Chukwu.
Its also relevant to note that Ikenga-Metuh quotes another "Prayer for Good Fortune" on p.328, where Anyanwu is described as taking a sacrifice to Chukwu, thereby emphasising the idea of distinction between Anyanwu and Chukwu.
Within the imaginative flexibility of the religious mind, however, which is essentially poetic in its understanding of reality, more imaginative than literal or linear, such juxtapositions and divisions are perfectly in order in referring to realities different from the ontological imperatives of the dimension inhabited by humans where individual identity is understood as significantly discrete and atomistic.
Such an atomistic conception differs from a more unitive understanding, related, for example, to the notion of cosmic force as pervading existence, which John Mbiti in African Religions and Philosophy attributes to African religions but which is a global phenomenon, evident in Chineses thought, for example, and beautifully described in the idea of spirit in ex-Jesuit writer Malachy Martin's book on exorcism, Hostage to the Devil and dramatised in the relatively recent fictional works on magic, Jonathan Stroud's Ptolemy's Gate, Moyra Caldecott's The Silver Vortex and in David Zindell's science fiction account of the Solid State Entity in Neverness, which, in describing a galactic intelligence as expressed through Her celestial bodies, approximates the description of Ayanwu as a manifestation of Chukwu.
'i think they actually prove the point that it is divinity in another manifestation than chukwu's that is mentioned in the prayer.'
I dont think they prove that point. Within an immanent conception of divinity, for example, any phenomenon can be a manifestation of divinity. Mircea Eliade's concept of hierophany seems to develop that idea even beyond the style of thinking represented by conceptions of immanence.
Ogonna Agu describes the morning kola nut ritual stating that the prayer sequence begins with invoking the names of Chukwu, of which Anyanwu is one, relating the rising of sun to the break of day, and to the emergence of the first morning on creation day through the agency of Chukwu.
Umeh goes to great length in developing his Chukwu-Agwu-Anyanwu-sun synthesis. Its not an effort that can be readily reproduced in a few lines of text.
Onwuejeogwu does not go as far as Umeh but his description of Agwu shares some similarities with that of Umeh.
Trying to conflate the various possibilities without noting the pints of distinction is like trying to conflate the views of different but related theologians and philosophers into one simple mix.
Achebe makes the correlation between Chukwu, Chi and the sun in a highly evocative manner while his interpretive strategy makes it clear that the entire exercise of trying to understand and synthesises these oral belief systems is actually a creative process since he does not pretend to have a definitive, summative understanding but demonstrates clearly the episodic character of his acquisition of this information and the interpretive methods he uses in piecing a holistic picture together through logical linguistic links and inferences.
Achebe takes pains in that essay to describe the imaginative flexibility and non-absolutist character he sees classical Igbo cosmological thought as demonstrating.
In fact, with the Achebe example juxtaposed with other examples, one may conclude that efforts to understand such oral traditions might be more of creative efforts than a definitive summation of the possibilities those traditions represent.
'it might be interesting to cite text (oral or written) in which the claims for the identity of chukwu and the sun are articulated in prayers or sayings etc.'
This approach needs to be contextualised so it is not trapped within a notion of textual reification which has limited value in this context.
It might be more helpful to speak of examples from successive generations of text.
This would include texts that come from a primarily oral tradition.
It would also include texts coming from a written tradition, as represented by the contemporary practitioners quoted who are developing their own interpretations and expressions of ancient sacred forms within written media.
What some of these writers are developing is their own contribution to the sacred texts of the tradition.
They are in the process of constructing new texts in a tradition where much of the oral material is not readily accessible even when it still exists.
Omenka Nwa-Ikenga is even bold enough to argue for individualistic visualisations of the alusi or spirit beings since he says the elders told him the alusi are formless.
He gives remarkable examples of of his use of Marvel Comics superheroes to serve his own ends in that direction, those heroes resonating deeply with him on account of their hold on his imagination.
Patrick Irouegbu, deeply versed in the traditional approaches, did not challenge him but saluted his efforts on the Odinani blog.
Ogonna Agu describes himself as developing new poetic ritual forms inspired by the ancient forms.
thanks
toyin
On Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 5:12 PM, kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu> wrote:
oh, ok. but this is like saying god=god the father, god the son, and the holy ghost.
it makes ckukwu into all divine manitestations. but chukwu is a different work, name, being from anyanwu, not to mention agbala and chi.
it might be interesting to cite text (oral or written) in which the claims for the identity of chukwu and the sun are articulated in prayers or sayings etc. the quotes below are very compelling, but i think they actually prove the point that it is divinity in another manifestation than chukwu's that is mentioned in the prayer.
however, on the original point, i think i can remove my objection to the reference to god as existing in the sun, in equiano. this makes it close enough, especially as he was a child when he was kidnapped; and even if he was born in s carolina, as the baptism certificate states, he could just as easily have heard about igboland and its faith through many other slaves and their accounts and beliefs and practices
ken
ken
On 1/29/13 10:22 AM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU wrote:
Just observed from reading Ogonna Agu, The Book of Dawn and Invocations : The Search for Philosophic Truth by an African Initiate that he describes Anyanwu,'the sun' as a name for Chukwu. He does the same for Igwe 'the sky'.
Wikipedia has these very suggestive description of Anyanwu-
Anyanwu (Igbo: Eye of the Sun) is an Igbo deity that is believed to dwell in the sun. Anyanwu was one of the principal spirits for the Igbo, often associated with Agbara, the holy spirit as they both dwelled in the sun. This deity was seen as the perfect image of what a human should be.[1]
Wikipedia on Chukwu develops Ogonna's thesis-
There are five aspects of Chukwu:
- Chukwu is the first force, and existence of all beings living or not, time, and place are offsprings. God is God, no earth-bound people is perfect or god-like.
- Anyanwu-Symbolic meaning of the sun. The sun is everywhere, therefore Chukwu is everywhere. The sun is all powerful. The sun reveals everything so Chukwu is the source of knowledge, and the author of all knowledge.
- Chukwu means Agbala which is the fertility of Earth, its people, and its spiritual world full of sub-dieties under Chukwu (or Chukouuee) the supreme God.
- Chi, a sub-deity functioning as a personal spiritual guidance of a person manifested in the power and ability to look over all living beings. [Achebe in his Chi essay has some very interesting reflections on this line of thought]
- Okike (Chukwu the supreme God) created laws that govern the visible and invisible. Laws are neither good nor bad, they are simple laws that enable things to work.[3]
Omenka Nwa-Ikenga in his blog post Ayanwu :The Eye of Light at Odinani : The Sacred Arts and Sciences of the Igbo People : An Igbo Cyber Shrine develops a range of conceptual associations and parallels with other religions, reinforcing this by quoting Anenechukwu Umeh's After God is Dibia : Igbo Cosmology, Divination and Sacred Science in Nigeria. Vol. 1:
"As Ose Obala, Agwu is the God of Light, Anwu, whose eye is the Sun (Anyanwu). ..As the God of Light, Agwu is an integral part of Ose Ora (Uche Chukwu), the universal Consciousness of God…which is the completeness awareness of what was, what is, and what will be…..God of Light whose blaze or Divine Light disperses and/or extinguishes danger, evil or darkness." (Page 114).
He is quoting from Umeh's very, very rich chapter on Agwu. Umeh's treatment of Agwu is highly elevated, abstract and spiritual in spirit. It can be profitably correlated with Onwuejeogwu's more concrete personificatory description of Agwu in Afa Symbolism to facilitate a richer grasp of this fascinating concept in terms of both conceptual elevation and imagistic grounding.
These interpretations correlating Chukwu, Anyanwu and the sun reinforce each other.
thankstoyin
--
On Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 4:38 AM, kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu> wrote:
Ah!! very interesting. that means paul edwards introduction where he makes this claim is wrong. i wondered since it seemed weird to me.
thanks
kenharrow@msu.edu
On 1/28/13 1:54 PM, Chidi Anthony Opara wrote:
"Above" in this context means "heaven". The Igbos believe that heaven
is located above, just above, not in the sun or moon. The reference to
Chukwu as "Onye bi na elu" translates to "He who lives above". As a
child and as an adult in Igboland, I have never heard any elder allude
to Chukwu living in the sun or moon.
CAO.
On Jan 28, 7:02 pm, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
chidi
in your praise for chukwu, can you help me out?
i am teaching equiano tonight, and he alludes to their african belief in
god who dwells in the sun.
in your poem, chukwu dwells above. would you agree that equiano's
statement about dwelling inthe son could be an accurate one (i know it
was more than 200 years ago, which might have been different then)
ken
On 1/28/13 4:24 AM, ChidiAnthonyOparaPoetry/Quotes wrote:
(Poem By: Chidi Anthony Opara)--
I come before you
This hour before dawn
Chukwu.
You, who dwell above,
Below
Is your foot stool.
You, whom the gods
Genuflect in his presence,
Before you I come
Clean,
Devoid of dirt.
Your covenant with my forebears
Bound me to come before you
On this market day,
At this hour
To purge my soul of impurities
Of the period past.
I have washed my body
And rinsed my mouth
With the waters of onu ngara.
No human is worthy
To present sacrifices
And libations in your presence.
My sacrifices
I have presented to the good gods,
My libations
To my ancestors.
I stand before you in awe,
Yet
I must make my confessions
Before the din of dawn.
Reproductions in part or in whole, in whatever forms, of
ChidiAnthonyOparaPoetry/Quotes except for non-profit information and
education purposes, without a written permission from
PublicInformationProjects
<http://www.publicinformationprojects.blogspot.com/><http://www.chidianthonyopara.blogspot.com/>
is not allowed.
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