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The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) - Culture - Nairaland

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The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by tonychristopher: 3:57pm On Mar 14, 2015
In the traditional Igbo spiritual belief system and Igbo mythology, Chukwu is the infinitely powerful, undefinable, supreme deity encompassing everything in space and space itself. Linguistic studies suggest that the name "Chukwu" or "Chukouuee" is a portmanteau of the Igbo words "Chi" ("spiritual being"wink and "Ukwu" ("great in size"wink. In the Igbo pantheon, Chukwu is the source of all other Igbo deities, and is responsible for assigning them their different tasks. The Igbo people believe that all things come from Chukwu, who brings the rains necessary for plants to grow and controls everything on earth and the spiritual world.

Conception of Chukwu
Chukwu combines the concept of creator of deities for all we know and are aware of including the concept of a solar deity. According to the Igbo people from the eastern region of Nigeria, Chineke is the creator of the world and everything good in it. This God is also responsible for rain, trees, and other plants. Chukwu is a supreme God represented by the sun. The ancient God is not humanized in Igbo tradition belief. Because the igbo deities Amadioha and Ikenga are masculine, Chukwu is assumed to be male. Colonialism brought Christianity to Igbo people which challenged and sought to change this belief, but still remains a dominant traditional belief in Igbo people. Many Igbo Christians now refer to the Christian God as Chukwu. The Igbo believe it is impossible for humans to conceive of the unlimited power of Chukwu. Many Igbo dialects refer to God as "Chukwu", "Chiokike", "Obasi," etc. depending on the geography.

The Igbo people believe that Chukwu sent a dog to mankind to tell them that dead bodies should be covered with ashes and buried. This would bring the person back to life. On his long journey to earth, the dog became weary and prolonged its journey. So, Chukwu then sent a sheep to deliver the message faster, but the silly sheep forgot part of the message. The sheep only told the people of Earth that bodies should be buried. Because of this, the human bodies remained dead. When the dog finally arrived, nobody believed his story and thus death became permanent.

There are five aspects of Chukwu:

Chukwu - the first force and existence of all beings.

Anyanwu - symbolic meaning of the sun. The sun reveals everything so Chukwu is the source of knowledge and the author of all knowledge.


Ekwensu was a Trickster God (Alusi) of the Igbo people who served as the Alusi or God of Bargains and the tortoise. Crafty at trade and negotiations, he was often invoked for guidance in difficult mercantile situations. Like most Trickster Gods, the deity was a force of Chaos and Change, thus in his more violent aspects, Ekwensu was also revered as a God of War and Victory who ruled over the wicked spirits and the chaotic forces of nature.

His companion was Death. With the advent of Christianity, the more beneficent aspects of the deity were supplanted by missionaries who came to misrepresent Ekwensu as Satan.

He was the testing force of Chukwu, and along with Ani the Earth goddess, and Igwe, the Sky God, make up the three highest Alusi's of the ancient Igbo people.

Ekwensu is also the Igbo word for Satan.

Source: http://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Chukwu&item_id=1862697

8 Likes 1 Share

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by stevikenna: 6:46pm On Mar 14, 2015
WITH THE ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY AND ALL THESE NEO COLONIALISM GOING ON,WE THE IGBOS HAVE QUICKLY FORGOTTEN OUR ROOTS
OUR CULTURE IS ON THE DECLINE,THE LANGUAGE IS DYING AND OUR GREAT SOCIETIES LIKE THE AGE GRADE SYSTEM ARE ALMOST EXTINCT
THIS IS A TIME FOR SOBER REFLECTION,WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES HOW WE WANT THE FUTURE TO LOOK FOR US
IGBO KWENU! !
.

23 Likes 1 Share

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by ralmix(m): 6:47pm On Mar 14, 2015
.in d land of jesus nd devil d destiney of a graet nation lies on d sholder of a wonderful trybe her name #IGBO....

2 Likes

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by mifavour(f): 6:47pm On Mar 14, 2015
igbo kwenu!

8 Likes

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by BruzMoney(m): 6:47pm On Mar 14, 2015
Ok
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by Tic4tac(m): 6:47pm On Mar 14, 2015
ok
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by tigonana: 6:48pm On Mar 14, 2015
Space booked.
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by mifavour(f): 6:48pm On Mar 14, 2015

1 Like

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by Rooy57(m): 6:48pm On Mar 14, 2015
just passing
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by okonelfg(m): 6:48pm On Mar 14, 2015
abeg can someone explain the first paragraph for me...imagine just finish readin but can't get anything into this my komkom head....only igbo and chukwu is the only thing i can boast of to understand.

3 Likes 1 Share

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by Nobody: 6:49pm On Mar 14, 2015
IGBO IN THE BLOOD...I LOVE ALA IGBO wink

5 Likes

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by yuzjet(m): 6:49pm On Mar 14, 2015
Ooops!
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by veraiyke(m): 6:49pm On Mar 14, 2015
Coreect n adds to my knowledge
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by Ishilove: 6:49pm On Mar 14, 2015
Hian. Spacebookers, I fear una

1 Like

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by emmysoftyou: 6:50pm On Mar 14, 2015
tonychristopher ,are yu now a mod?
ur topic dey mak frontpage since dis week,grin
happy 4 u bro..
wetin be d secret ?

Back to the topic, Ndigbo knew the name of God before the coming christ,

chukwu
chineke

igbo kwenu,
we no dey cary last at all cheesy

2 Likes

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by Babyboy1986(m): 6:51pm On Mar 14, 2015
Typeing..
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by PHfinest(m): 6:51pm On Mar 14, 2015
Ok. That's enlightening
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by lanxlot(m): 6:51pm On Mar 14, 2015
d relationship between Chukwu and ukwu avin read dix vignette is now...dutifully obvious.....lemme use dix platform den 2 warn Flavour sternly.....I deem it fit dat he shud av respect for ukwu...nd respectfully make use of d word henceforth.
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by Wandungu(m): 6:52pm On Mar 14, 2015
Word!
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by M4gunners: 6:53pm On Mar 14, 2015
Op you are a true Son Igbo.

1 Like

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by charlsecy(m): 6:53pm On Mar 14, 2015
I think every culture has their own story about creation and GOD..... but it looks like the colonialists tried to destroy ours. The colonialists attacked everything we have, including our language, that you would be fined for speaking what they called "vernacular." You speak your language and you are whipped.... This is one of the biggest cultural disasters ever experienced. They say your culture is evil; they say your language is backward; they say your religion is demonic......

According to the Igbo people from the eastern region of Nigeria....

Igbos are from Southern region of Nigeria, not eastern Nigeria. In fact, there is no eastern region in Nigeria. Perhaps, you meant South-EASTERN sub-region.

5 Likes

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by lanxlot(m): 6:53pm On Mar 14, 2015
Ishilove:
Hian. Spacebookers, I fear una
in bovi's words...secure ur future o....we jux de fence our landed property....dats all
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by LewisO: 6:53pm On Mar 14, 2015
[size=15pt]I don't just understand this epistle. undecided [/size]
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by shoturtrap(m): 6:53pm On Mar 14, 2015
Nice write up
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by kcowen(m): 6:54pm On Mar 14, 2015
Omo see space Booking Ooh,if una book Finish make I come see the House una wan Build inside

Anyway Proudly IGBO
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by chrisviral(m): 6:54pm On Mar 14, 2015
Op research well

story has it that Chukwu sent a Dog and a tortoise, knowing fully well that a tortoise was very slow compared to the fastness of a dog, he gave them different messages...
To the Dog: he said burying humans with ashes brings them back to life
To the Tortoise: Burying them like that will make them live (he lied) which infact was to make them die forever...
A normal person would expect the Dog to get to humans first, but along the race, Chukwu threw down a bone from heaven and the dog got distracted, tortoise delivered his message first, and till date, the dead never comes back to life...

Moral of the story: the obvious is not always the right choice...
Your welcome.

4 Likes

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by okotv(m): 6:54pm On Mar 14, 2015
not willing to read through cause






it shall be well
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by Nobody: 6:54pm On Mar 14, 2015
Following......... cool
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by stevikenna: 6:54pm On Mar 14, 2015
Ọ ga-abụ nke ọma
Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by mezebel(f): 6:55pm On Mar 14, 2015
Ekwensu go behind me....
Chukwu all the way.

2 Likes

Re: The Igbo Concept Of Satan(Ekwensu) And Chukwu (God) by free2ryhme: 6:56pm On Mar 14, 2015
dis one pass me ooo

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