Person wearing a costume of leaves and cloth, standing in front of a massive tree trunk.

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The Ecological Value of Igbo Spirituality

For the Igbo, land and water bodies have an identity and a voice.

Atam Masquerade from Alok Village, Nigeria, 2004. Phyllis Galembo

Spring/Summer 2023

By Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu

The current environmental crisis has been traced to the dominant consumerist, materialistic, and hedonistic approach toward the use of the environment, which comes with an understanding of the environment as a property. This attitude has consequences not only in the West but also in the poor countries in Africa. In his 2015 papal encyclical letter on climate, Laudatio Si (Praise Be to You), Pope Francis insists that the “warming caused by huge consumption on the part of some rich countries has repercussions on the poorest areas of the world, especially Africa, where a rise in temperature, together with drought, has proved devastating for farming.”1 Pope Francis describes the mismanagement of the ecosystem as a sin against humanity. Levente Hufnagel and Sean McDonagh focus on the horror of extinction;2 Sarah McFarland Taylor refers to it as the major human dilemma of our time;3 for Paul-Kolade Tubi, it is an ecocide.4

There have been various efforts by environmental experts and international organizations to grapple with the challenges of this worsening ecological crisis in the last 20 years or so, including countless conferences on environmental protection, yet these measures have not been able to solve the problem at hand. Most of these responses have only addressed the symptoms rather than the main issues, and there has been an increasing acknowledgment of the need for alternative perspectives and approaches that can go deeper and wider.5

In particular, we need perspectives that understand the environment as that which is not only material but nonempirical in value. This will involve solving ecological issues from the particular religious, cultural, and philosophical experiences of particular peoples, as Pope Francis teaches:

There is a need to respect the rights of peoples and cultures. . . . Nor can the notion of the quality of life be imposed from without, for quality of life must be understood within the world of symbols and customs proper to each human group.6

African Indigenous peoples have long related with their environment in a spirit of respect, solidarity, and complementarity. Segun Ogungbemi avers that:

In our traditional relationship with nature, men and women recognize the importance of water and air management to our traditional communities. The ethics of not taking more than you need from nature is a moral code. Perhaps this explains why earth, forest, rivers, wind and other national objects are traditionally believed to be both natural and divine.7

The African perspective is sacralized; most African people are guided by Earth-based spiritual traditions and practices, and these serve as a sustained source for their practical struggle for the healing of ecosystems and for sustainable living from the earth’s resources.8 The preservation of the environment depends on the spiritual awareness of men and women and on an attitude of responsibility centered on “having a reverential attitude toward the environment in taking care of it while dwelling within its premises.”9

Igwebuike is an Igbo proverb and a typical Igbo name that provides an ontological horizon presenting being as that which possesses a relational character of mutuality.

Igbo Indigenous religion refers to the religion of the Igbo people. My research is based on the Igwebuike conservation theory, which is an Indigenous, holistic approach to the understanding and preservation of the environment. Igwebuike is an Igbo proverb and a typical Igbo name that provides an ontological horizon presenting being as that which possesses a relational character of mutuality. Literally, igwebuike means “there is strength in numbers” or “number is power.” However, beyond the literal sense, it means otu obi (one heart and one soul)—cor unum et anima una. As a conservation theory, it understands the exploitation and mismanagement of any dimension of the environment as having consequences for the entirety of reality.

 

I will try to capture here the Igbo conception of god, divinities, spirits, the human person, and the relationships among these forces, with a focus on how these relate to environmental preservation. Let me begin by discussing some of the important concepts and practices of this religious tradition:

Sacred animals

Among the Igbo, different communities and families hold different animals as sacred, with whom they have an affinity.10 At times, the sacred animals are treated as the property of some deities; the python, for instance, is considered to belong to the deity Idemili. Particular animals are considered sacred because the supernatural reveals himself in them. And because spirits dwell in them, these sacred animals possess great powers and are respected. Some sacred animals in Igbo-African traditional society include:

  • Eke (Python) is referred to as Nne anyi (our mother) when it visits Igbo homes, and it must not be killed. It is a symbol of ancestral spirits, wisdom, earthly bliss, and benefaction.
  • Ikwikwi (Owl) is a symbol of vigilance. When it moves or makes a sound, it is believed that it is communicating a message from the ancestors. To kill it is to shut oneself out of communication with the ancestors.
  • Udene (Vulture) is a mystical symbol of the spirits; and it is a ritual consumer of the spirits. When a sacrifice is offered, and a vulture does not come to eat it, it is believed that the sacrifice has been rejected by the spirits.
  • Icho-Oku (Parrot) is a symbol of surveillance, sight, and proclamation. According to G. E. Adibe, “The feather is regarded as the power of insight in the spirit world.”11
  • Mbekwu (Tortoise) is a mystical symbol of wisdom and discernment, capable of maneuvering around all traps and obstacles. Its shell is used by diviners in mystical religious rituals.

Sacred Trees and Forests

Sacred trees and plants in Igbo traditional societies were the first temples of the gods and places of worship. According to Pamela Frese and S. J. M. Gray, sacred trees:

Are a form of nature that represent life and the sacred continuity of the spiritual, cosmic and physical worlds. A tree is usually used to symbolize a deity or other sacred beings, or it may stand for what is sacred in general . . . , serve as [a] mediator or as a link to the religious realm.12

Sacred trees also symbolize life, youth, immortality, and wisdom. Sankar Sen Gupta adds that they are worshiped because of their long life and the protection that they offer the human person.13 Emmanuel Edeh observes that, among the Igbo, human attributes are conferred on trees because they are understood to be a part of the human family and are considered vessels for the manifestation of spiritual beings.14

There are also forests among the Igbo that were set aside as sacred sites and strictly protected by customary laws, beliefs, and enforced taboos. These forests remain the storehouse of the life gas oxygen in Igbo traditional society. They also improve soil stability and act as a soil binder, thus preventing erosion. These forests were regarded as abodes of the spirits and deities and places for worship and sacrifice. Examples include: Ofia Udike (dedicated to Udike); Ofia Aro (dedicated to the deity Aro); in Abatete, Ofia Omaliko (dedicated to the deity Omaliko); in Nnobi, Ofia Idemili (dedicated to the deity Idemili); in Umunnachi, Ofia Okpimodu (dedicated to the deity Okpimodu). It is forbidden to go inside these woods, cut them down, or collect their fruits. Due to the lack of human activities, monkeys and other animals often live in these forests and are considered sacred. Some Igbo sacred trees include: alligator pepper, ogirisi, oji, yam, kola nut, omu, udara, and ofo.

Market Days

Among the most powerful religious and social elements in Igbo religion, history, and culture are the Igbo market days, which include Eke, Orie, Afo, and Nkwo. Unlike the English calendar, which has seven days in a week, the Igbo calendar has four days, representing the four cardinal points: Eke, East; Orie, West; Afo, North; and Nkwo, South. There are particular deities that are worshiped on different market days, during which water is not drawn from some water bodies, because such days are sacred to the deity.

  • Eke market day is regarded as Isi Mbido Ahia(the beginning of the market days), or diokpara ubosi(the first son of the week). It is a sacred day, to be honored by everyone, and sometimes is associated with Eke (python) or Eke, the creator God.15
  • Orie is Ada Ubosi (the first daughter of the week), the day when the Igbo communities declare the opening of the farming season. As a holy day of obligation, the Uturu farmer rests from farming on this day and feasts together with his or her family.
  • Afo is Osote Diokpara (second son), the day of merriment and masquerade displays.
  • Nkwo is Isote Ada Ubosi (the second daughter). Those who die on Nkwo day are considered righteous. It is a day when many celebrations or feasts among the Igbo begin.
Photo of a carved wooden mask

Kalabari Ijo. Water Spirit Mask (Igbo), 1950 or earlier. Wood, pigment, 17 1/4 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/2 in. Brooklyn Museum, gift of Dr. Ernst Anspach, 79.115.1. CC-BY.

Water Spirit (Mmuo Mmiri)

The African universe is made up of a myriad of spirits. In Igbo ontology, spirits inhabit mountains, trees, the ground, the sky, and the water—rivers, seas, oceans, canals, and more. The spirit that inhabits the water is popularly called Mmuo Mmiri, and it occupies a prominent place in the Igbo pantheon. It is a female deity believed to hold the key to the gate that leads to the world of solutions.

Mmuo Mmiri underscores the awe for female fecundity, symbolizes the female dimension of the Igbo universe, and is a role model for female achievement and sacredness of life. This deity is supremely beautiful, colorful, sparkling, elusive, and benevolent; however, she is equally dangerous, as she can cause turmoil, diseases, and even bring about death. Those who are her devotees find in her a source of fertility, children, food, health, and wealth. Her icons are the python, crocodile, and tortoise.

The Deity Ala

Ala is the most important deity in Igbo public and private cults.16 Everything that was done in Igbo traditional society had a bearing on the land. Ala is the sole daughter of Chukwu and is believed to have made the ground and the vegetable kingdom. According to Ik. N. T. Ogbukagu:

The Ala is ipso facto, the earth-divinity of the Igbo speaking peoples. It is the great mother goddess, the spirit of fertility and the queen of the underworld. It is generally believed to be the most powerful of all divinities who is also the custodian of public morality, assisted by the ancestors.17

Among the Igbo, the land is holy, and from it God produces all living things, including human beings. It is also through the land that human beings rejoin their Maker—Chineke. When a person commits a crime, he or she is said to have Meruo Ala (defiled the land). If such a person dies without having Mejuo Ala (pacified the land), the Ala whose function it is to expose people’s atrocities will reject the corpse by throwing it out of the belly of the earth. In this case, the bereaved are left with the option of cremation. The offences against Ala include: suicide, incest, stealing, murder, premarital sex, and exploitation of nature.18

Whereas Chukwu is in charge of creation, Ala is in charge of conserving that which is created. While Chukwu is the giver of the moral law, Ala is the enforcer of the law. The Igbo, an agrarian people, regard Ala as the “Mother” of all crops. Before planting and harvest, they hold days of ritual ceremonies to appease Ala, so that she will facilitate the growth of healthy crops, and to thank her for making possible the abundant harvest.

 

Some of the important characteristics and principles that define, direct, and determine Igbo eco-spirituality include the following:

Igbo spirituality is highly religious; it begins by linking a person back to God as a starting point. A myriad of spiritual powers dominate the Igbo world, and the Igbo people do not understand their existence outside of God; they are bound by a spirituality that continuously speaks of created reality as sacred. This religious affiliation of nature with God means there is an understanding of nature as the outcome of divine ordering that must not be manipulated and exploited. Concepts such as stewardship and trusteeship are already included in this worldview.

Igbo eco-spirituality has a cosmological foundation; the way the Igbo understand the universe is directly related to the way they conduct themselves in it. The universe for the Igbo is anthropocentric. The implication is that it is the responsibility of humans to ensure that there is balance in the cosmos for their own well-being.

Among the Igbo, the human person at both individual and community levels is understood to have a moral responsibility to care for the earth. Communal responsibility is anchored in the fact that the earth is a residence for the entire community; if everyone fails and mismanages the earth, everyone would be a part of the suffering that would follow. Thus, the community sets taboos on the use of trees and the care for animals, forests, and water bodies. These taboos are referred to as the ecological guardians of the environment.

Communal responsibility is anchored in the fact that the earth is a residence for the entire community; if everyone fails and mismanages the earth, everyone would be a part of the suffering that would follow.

Igbo eco-spirituality is complementary; the Igbo understand the dimensions of the world as inextricably related to all other life forms within an interrelated, interconnected web. Every reality in the Igbo world has an inseparable link to every other reality.19 While the world provides a home for the human person, the human person beautifies the world through creativity, science, and technology, as long as their aim is making it a better home. An African proverb says: “No one throws a stone where he or she has placed a container of milk.”

Symbols and symbolic relationships within the Igbo context are important religious and cultural realities that imbue natural and man-made materials with deeper meanings than can be seen by any direct act of perception or apprehension; they represent the abstract in a concrete form.20 Anthony Echekwube, therefore, avers that “Symbolism is an interpretation of an object in order to make it signify that which ordinarily it is not.”21 In this world, trees, forests, animals, mountains, rivers, and canals represent or symbolize one spirit force or the other.

There is a strong sense of cause and effect among the Igbo. The Igbo world is an ordered universe in which all events are caused and potentially explicable. I maintain, as do other scholars, including Kwame Gyekye and G. O. Ozumba, the doctrine of universal causation in the Akan and Igbo worldviews.22 The Igbo-African principle of causality is expressed in the following: ife na-akpata ife (something is caused by something); odighi ihe gbaraka mee (nothing happens without a reason); nwata no nuzo na-agba egwu, odi nwa nnunu na aguru ya egwu no’hia (a child who is dancing on the road, there is a bird singing for it in the bush); You cannot see the rabbit in the afternoon in vain. Within the context of the present ecological crisis, the changes in nature are understood as effects of a cause.

The Igbo world is a world of active relationships between the living and the dead, the spiritual and nonspiritual, the divine and human, the animate and inanimate. In these relationships, forces in nature influence one another in a positive or negative way. Writing about Bantu philosophy, P. Tempels holds that: “The world of forces is held like a spider’s web of which no single thread can be caused to vibrate without shaking the whole network.”23 Expanding our understanding on relationships in nature, Henri Maurier writes: “Relationship as the fundamental category of African philosophy is the vital and active link between persons.”24

It is not enough to be in a relationship in the Igbo world. Every reality must belong or not be at all. To be and not belong is to suffer self-alienation. Pantaleon Iroegbu describes belongingness as the synthesis of the reality and experience of belonging.25 The way to belong is to participate, that is, to engage the active side of relationship. This relationship with the whole gives meaning to human existence, and to existence in general, and each being gains its identity through relationship. The purpose of a healthy relationship between the forces in nature is to maintain a balance and preserve the health of the universe. Once this balance is lost—usually born out by the failure of particular beings to negotiate their relations to other beings—the result is crisis, which can take an ecological form.

There is solidarity and respect for nature, based on the Igbo understanding of nature as a part of the network to which the human person belongs. When the human person expresses solidarity with nature, it is a way of preserving his or her own being. The consequences of the human action on the environment will have a resounding effect on the health of the human person.

 

Now that I have described some of the important dimensions and principles of Igbo spirituality, I will end by discussing their expressly ecological value.

First, the concept of the Ala deity brings a new perspective to the understanding of nature, given the conception of this deity as mother, source of life, nourisher, supporter, and teacher. The land is not just a solid part of the universe, it is a female. As mother, it is the abode of the living and the dead, since all will be buried in her womb, and thus, it is the home of the ancestors. Given this understanding, the land is not seen as a property, or belonging to the people; rather, the people belong to the land. The deity Ala is the landlord of the earth. As a tenant, one must be of good conduct so as to avoid being thrown out of the earth.

Motherhood also introduces such concepts as respect, love, care, empathy, support, and patience, which are indispensable for the promotion of the good health of the environment. These concepts are missing in the current relationship between many human beings and nature and are at the heart of the present ecological crisis.

Second, the Igbo understanding of the land and water bodies as manifestations of great spirits means that they are not considered “things.” They are spiritual personalities deserving of respect and care. Ala and Mmuo Mmiri give the land and water bodies personal identities that have consciousness. The land and water bodies are named according to these spiritual beings that inhabit them, which not only gives them an identity but a voice and representation. The water bodies and land are able to contribute to discussions about their own preservation through negotiations and taboos.

Ala and Mmuo Mmiri provide protection for the nature associated with them. Crabs, crocodiles, tortoises, snakes, water birds, and frogs are seen as children and messengers of these land and water spirits and so are not to be harmed. And since healthy water bodies become breeding grounds for species of organisms in other connecting water bodies, this protects and nurtures biodiversity.

The Igbo spiritual understanding of their land and water bodies helps the human person tread with caution because the destruction of the ecosystem will imply the destruction of a deity. As Mark Wallace writes, “the specter of ecocide raises the risk of deicide: to wreak environmental havoc on the earth is to run the risk that we will do irreparable harm to the Love and Mystery of God.”26

Third, sacred market days among the Igbo have ecological significance because of the activities that are forbidden on particular sacred days, establishing rhythms of activity that contribute to the preservation of the environment. For instance, there are particular market days when fishing or hunting is prohibited, which allows for the water body or forest to regenerate itself. At the spiritual level, it is understood that the particular deity associated with a particular market day is spending time with his or her children, which includes the fish and other inhabitants of that particular body.

Though there were no tree planting campaigns in traditional Igbo societies, some particular events and occasions are associated with the planting of sacred trees. For instance, when a plot of land is given to someone, they demarcate it with the ogirisi tree. During the rites of Iru Agwu (the pacification of spirits), the oha and ogirisi are two saplings that are planted and then watered to ensure they do not die. When a woman is married into a man’s house, she comes with her Chi, which is symbolized in the oha tree, which she plants in a corner of the compound. These trees are believed to possess spiritual powers.

As all of this should make abundantly clear, it’s not just that the environment is a living phenomenon to the Igbo, but that it’s considered to be a dimension of human life, and so its destruction would have direct consequences on the health of the human person. Therefore, to treat other dimensions of nature with respect is to treat oneself with respect, and to exploit them would mean waging war against oneself.

To treat other dimensions of nature with respect is to treat oneself with respect, and to exploit them would mean waging war against oneself.

The spirit-centered Igbo-African worldview has much to contribute to the ongoing discourse on eco-spirituality. It places emphasis on life, relationship, harmony, and the maintenance of coexistence. It is a worldview in which God is present and involved in creation through the spirits. Bushes and forests, mountains and hills, trees and plants, rivers and streams, animals and peoples—all are the abodes of spirits. This explains why the African universe has been described by many as “a forest of spirits,” because the length and breadth of her universe is woven together by spirits.

In the human search for better ways of relating with the environment, there is the need for an eclectic response that combines the riches and values of different possible approaches. This Igwebuike approach, which articulates an integrated vision of the preservation of the environment, is a necessary contribution to larger conversations about our escalating environmental crisis. Understanding and including this approach will not only ensure that the rights and cultures of African-Igbo peoples are respected, but it will also allow them to discuss and share valuable ideas about environmental preservation within the categories they best understand.

Notes:

  1. Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ of the Holy Father Francis on Care for Our Common Home, no. 51.
  2. Levente Hufnagel is the head of the Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Ecotheology at John Wesley Theological College in Budapest and has written several books. His latest is Ecotheology – Sustainability and Religions of the World (IntechOpen, 2023). Sean McDonagh is a Columban priest, environmental activist, and author of The Death of Life: The Horror of Extinction (2004) and Climate Change: A Challenge to All of Us (2010), both published by Columba Press.
  3. Sarah McFarland Taylor, Ecopiety: Green Media and the Dilemma of Environmental Virtue (NYU Press, 2019).
  4. Paul-Kolade Tubi, “Ecocide in Traditional Communities: An Anthropological Study of Ecological Crises in Northeast Yorubaland,” International Journal of Management, Social Sciences, Peace and Conflict Studies (IJMSSPCS) 3, no. 3 (September 2020): 245–55.
  5. Joram Tarusarira, “African Religion, Climate Change, and Knowledge Systems,” Ecumenical Review 69, no. 3 (2017): 398–410.
  6. Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, no. 144.
  7. Segun Ogungbemi, Philosophy and Development (Hope Publications, 2007), 36.
  8. See Annalet van Schalkwyk, “Sacredness and Sustainability: Searching for a Practical Eco-Spirituality,” Religion and Theology 18, no. 1-2 (2011): 77–92.
  9. L. Suganthi, “Ecospirituality: A Scale to Measure an Individual’s Reverential Respect for the Environment,” Ecopsychology 11, no. 2 (March 2019), doi:10.1089/eco.2018.0065.
  10. See my chapter “Sacred Animals as an Igbo-African Ecological Knowledge System,” in African Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Systems: Religion, Philosophy and the Environment (Association for the Promotion of African Studies, 2021), 1–17. C. Aniako’s writings on Igbo art are also relevant, including “Art in the Culture of Igboland,” in A Survey of the Igbo Nation, ed. G. E. K. Ofomata (Africana First Publishers, 2002), 300–349.
  11. Gregory E. M. Adibe, Igbo Mysticism: The Power of Igbo Traditional Religion and Society (Imagine Realities, 2008), 214.
  12. Pamela R. Frese and S. J. M. Gray, “Trees,” The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. 15 (Macmillan, 1987).
  13. Sankar Sen Gupta, Sacred Trees across Cultures and Nations (Indian Publications, 1980).
  14. Emmanuel M. P. Edeh, Towards an Igbo Metaphysics (Loyola University Press, 1985).
  15. Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu, A Hermeneutic Approach to African Traditional Religion, Philosophy and Theology (Augustinian Publications, 2015).
  16. See E. N. Onwu, Ụzo ndụ na eziokwu: Towards an Understanding of Igbo Traditional Religious Life and Philosophy (Ahịajọkụ lecture; Culture Division Ministry of Information and Culture, 2002).
  17. Ik. N. T. Ogbukagu, Traditional Igbo Beliefs and Practices: A Study on the Culture and People of Adazi-Nnukwu (Snaap Press, 2008), 385.
  18. See Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Heinemann, 1958), and Edmund Ilogu, Christianity and Igbo Culture (Brill, 1974).
  19. Marcel Uwineza, SJ, “African Spirituality and Its Contribution to Ecological Crisis,” La Civiltà Cattolica, October 14, 2017, laciviltacattolica.com.
  20. Jọn Ọfọegbu Ųkaegbu, Igbo Identity and Personality vis-à-vis Igbo Cultural Symbols (Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Facultad de Filosofia, 1991).
  21. Anthony O. Echekwube, “The Basic Principles of African Philosophy,” Essence: Interdisciplinary International Journal of Philosophy 2 (2005): 23–40.
  22. Kwame Gyekye, An Essay on African Philosophical Thought: The Akan Conceptual Scheme (Cambridge University Press, 1987; Temple University Press, 1995); G. O. Ozumba, “African Traditional Metaphysics,” Quodlibet 6, no. 1 (January-March 2004): 2–20.
  23. P. Tempels, “Bantu Philosophy,” in African Philosophy: An Anthology, ed. E. Chukwudi Eze (Blackwell, 1997), 200–220.
  24. Henri Maurier, Philosophie de l’Afrique Noire (Verlag des Anthropos-Instituts, 1976), 60.
  25. Pantaleon Iroegbu, “Being as Belongingness: A Substantive Redefinition of Being,” Ekpoma Review 1 (2004): 7.
  26. Mark I. Wallace, “The Wounded Spirit as the Basis for Hope in an Age of Radical Ecology,” in Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans, ed. Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether (Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2000), 60–61.

Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu, O.S.A., is Professor of African Philosophy and Religion with Tansian University, Nigeria, and president of the Association for the Promotion of African Studies (APAS). A pdf of the full paper he delivered at the April 2022 Ecological Spiritualities conference is also available.

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