Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Chinua Achebe and Ancestor Worship (1964)

O, the Igbo do not practice ancestor worship. The exact translation is Blessing the Ancestors, Igo Mmuo. We do not practice Polytheism either. There is only one Chukwu or Chineke for the Igbo. Ulu is Arusi but not Chiukwu or God. But God being omnipresent, the Igbo also believe that there is the spirit of God, Chi, in every human and in every living being but the Igbo do not worship human beings, living or dead. The ideas of multiple Gods and Ancestor Worship were inventions of colonial anthropologists and Achebe was translating for non-Igbo speakers like you.

Achebe was teaching us a few things about his work but got a few things wrong in that interview. I have offered a brief appreciation on my blog site:

Achebe Critiqued Okonkwo

Achebe Critiqued Okonkwo By Biko Agozino The interview of Achebe by Soyinka and Nkosi in 1964 goes to show why written reviews and t...

On Tuesday, 2 June 2020, 07:57:50 GMT-4, OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagbetuyi@hotmail.com> wrote:

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

I am basically an ancestor worshipper...this is why the treatment given to our ancestors way of life in my first novel is no longer adequate.

In my third novel ( Arrow of God) I was dealing with a village priest Ezeulu and not a Christian priest...and the question of who has the right to speak for the Gods...

Chinua Achebe in an interview with Wole Soyinka and Lewis Nkosi.

OAA

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