OVERVIEW OF THE ORIGINS OF RELIGION WORLDWIDE & DEVELOPMENT OF RENASCENT IGBO RELIGION a.k.a. KENEZIANISM

ALL PREVIOUS DOCTRINES/DOGMAS 

MUST BE DISMANTLED BEFORE HUMANITY CAN 

ARRIVE AT A GLOBAL RELIGION FOR A GLOBAL 

PEACE IN OUR GLOBAL VILLAGE

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

OVERVIEW OF THE ORIGINS OF RELIGION WORLDWIDE & DEVELOPMENT OF RENASCENT IGBO RELIGION a.k.a. KENEZIANISM

OVERVIEW OF THE ORIGINS OF RELIGION WORLDWIDE & DEVELOPMENT OF RENASCENT IGBO RELIGION a.k.a. KENEZIANISM

RENASCENT IGBO RELIGION

 wwwrenascentigborel.blogspot.com

Replace the triangles with a World Map to get the symbol of Renascent Igbo Religion.

Nine is the highest number in Nze n’Ozo culture and same with numerology worldwide.

It is the highest number of fines levied and offered to the Ultimate Spirit for absolution.

In traditional liturgies in Igbo land nine kola nuts and nine alligator pepper are used.

The same number applies to royal gifts presented in obeisance to the highest titled men.

A Kenezian Overview

A renowned author with WIKIPEDIA, the Free Encyclopedia, contends that Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual nature and a study of inherited ancestral traditions, knowledge and wisdom related to understanding humanlife. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to faith as well as to the larger shared systems of belief. 

This is true of African Traditional Religion (ATR), the ancient Religious Thought that held sway before westernisation reached my forebears, therefore “Concedo in Aeternum”, with the Renowned Wikipedia Professor but with some modifiers you will soon observe. 

• Religion as a concept and Culture as a way of life have a very thin line separating them. Most of the time the preliterate indigenes of rural communities converted their cultural practices into religious rituals and vice versa. Thus most primitive religions became the belief system or their natural theosophy and explanations on creation, existence and death. It was initially introduced to unite people on the grounds of totem and taboo, norms and mores, respect and fear of societal traditions to enable the then village heads to rule and drive the group or clan. Slowly, religions were engineered to evolve into stronger and wider beliefs.

·        Various preachers have driven their thoughts across centuries to prove that their religion is superior. Lately, however, religion has become a mixed flavour of theories, dogmas and doctrines serving to control humanity with more free thinkers and isolation of superstitions. The 20th century had many reformers getting rid of some foolish and evil rituals, so that today, religion is more of a provider of the definition of life and its cycle and eventually its self-esteem.

A belief system can refer to a religion or a worldview. A world view (or worldview) is a term calqued from the German word Weltanschauung; Welt is the German word for 'world,' and Anschauung is the German word for 'view' or 'outlook'. It is a concept fundamental to German philosophy and epistemology and refers to a wide world perception. Additionally, it refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the worldand interacts in it.

Map showing multiplicity of religions, their numerical strength and relative importance of religion in countries. This is based on a 2006-2008 worldwide survey by Gallup, cited in Wikipedia (2000 edition).

Religiosity, in its broadest sense, is a comprehensive sociological term used to refer to the numerous aspects of religious activity, dedication and belief (religious doctrine). Another term though is less often used, is religiousness. In its narrowest sense, religiosity deals more with how religious a person is, and less with how a person is religious (in practicing certain rituals, retelling certain myths, revering certain symbols, or accepting certain doctrines about deities and afterlife), the Wikipedia lecturer concludes.

In summary, therefore; ‘Do you believe’ becomes more important than ‘Do you know’. In Renascent Igbo Religion the precursor of Integrational Spiritan Movement, the last nuance of the term “world-view” is the most relevant for producing A Worldwide Mode of Obedience, Loyalty, Respect and Worship of The Almighty Creator of the Universe Devoid of Bigotry, Racism and Syncretism.Knowing is what we now need not belief! Today, computer age citizens of the Global Village need a respite from Belief Systems!

The Igbo people have no name for the Giver of Life! All we have are appellations that describe the evident and superlative traits of this Consummate Spirit that created, creates and will still continue to create and sustain all the beings; visible and invisible, animate and inanimate, human or inhuman for ages in the future;

1. Chi-na-eke: the ultimate spirit that creates
2. Chi-ukwu:   the greatest spirit
3. Obasi bi n-elu: the omnipotent that lives on high
4. Ama-di-oha: the supreme husband of all
5. Ogara-nya ngada-nga: the wealthiest of the rich
6. Ugwu ana-ari-atu egwu: the highest mountain that is climbed with trepidation
7. Ogbajiri igwe kpoo ya nku: He that breaks steel and calls it dry wood
8. Utu na agba igwe: bacteria that eats up iron, i.e. potent ant that tears iron to shreds
9. Ogbu onye mbosi ndu n’ato ya oto: he that snuffs life out the arrogant at the apex of egocentric pride.

In our culture, one can only give a name to what one owns, has authority over and can dispose of at will! It is not right to give any name to the Creator; we describe what he is and does; “Chi-na-eke”, meaning; “the divine spirit that creates” or “Chi-Ukwu”; the Ultimate Spirit! Those who use the label “God or gods” for the Creator; have never spelt it backwards. Try it now and be shocked at what you get. Can you now realise the demonic coinage that has been used for centuries? Our ancestors were wiser. We dare not use lower caps in spelling the attributes we assign the Almighty! Igbos do not, could not, should not and cannot use a pejorative term or even an honourable one for their Creator!

Whereas other nations and cultures built places of worship for their religions, the Igbo know that the sky is the dome of the Creator and his illuminating lights are the sun, moon and stars. The natural grooves or well planned and decorated open squares are our places of worship; come rain come shine! Most devotional rituals are done in moonlighting periods as it is cool and lasts the whole night. Above are edifices other major world religions built. We have none! The entire horizon with all its benefits is our church!

For the Igbo, no human engineered structure is good enough to be the abode of the supreme spirit that owns the sky, the land and the sea. He is worshipped in the open! Therefore, I conclude this prelude thus: May Our Creator (Chi-neke) prosper the work of your hands and provide divine guidance and protection for your spouses and children. I share in this last prayer and hope that all is well for those who love The Ultimate Spirit (Chi-ukwu).

WHO ARE THESE IGBOS?

Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, states that they are members of a unique species of Africans imbued with love of money, industry, native intelligence and so much ingenuity that they are dreaded.

The white section of this map shows where Igbo descendants inhabit with their kit and kin to date

Igbo also called Ibo are the resourceful people living chiefly in Biafra, now refrred to as Southeastern Nigeria who speak Igbo, a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Igbo may be grouped into the following main cultural divisions: northern (Onitsha), southern (Owerri), western (Ika), eastern (Cross River), and northeastern (Abakaliki).

Before European colonisation, the Igbo were not united as a single people but lived in autonomous local communities. By the mid-20th century, however, a sense of ethnic identity was strongly developed, and the Igbo-dominated Eastern region of Nigeria tried to unilaterally secede from Nigeria in 1967 as the independent nation of Biafra. By the turn of the 21st century the Igbo numbered some 20 million.

Most Igbo traditionally have been subsistence farmers, their staples being yams, cassava, and taro. The other crops they grow include corn (maize), melons, okra, pumpkins, and beans. Among those still engaged in agriculture, men are chiefly responsible for yam cultivation, women for other crops. Land is owned communally by kinship groups and is made available to individuals for farming and building. Some livestock, important as a source of protein, prestige and for use in sacrifices, is kept. The principal exports are palm oil and palm kernels. 

Trading, local crafts, and wage labour also are important in the Igbo economy, and a high literacy rate has helped many Igbo to become civil servants and business entrepreneurs in the decades after Nigeria gained independence. It is notable that Igbo women engage in trade and are influential in local politics. Except for the northeastern groups, the Igbo live in rainforest country. Most Igbo occupy villages of dispersed compounds, but in some areas villages are compact. The compound is typically a cluster of huts, each of which constitutes a separate household. Traditionally the village was usually occupied by a patrilineage.

 Before the advent of colonial administration, the largest political unit was the village group, a federation of villages averaging about 5,000 persons. Members of the group shared a common market and meeting place, a tutelary deity, and ancestral cults that supported a tradition of descent from a common ancestor or group of ancestors. Authority in the village group was vested in a council of lineage heads and influential and wealthy men. 

In the eastern regions these groups tended to form larger political units, including centralized kingdoms and states. Traditional Igbo religion includes belief in a creator god, an earth goddess, and numerous other deities and spirits, as well as a belief in ancestors who protect their living descendants. Revelation of the will of the deities is sought by divination and oracles. Many Igbo are now Christians.

The author of this reformation book on ONE WORLD RELIGION is an indigene of this stock of humanity. His forebears practised IGBO TRADITIONAL RELIGION, which has been modernised and re-named RENASCENT AFRICAN RELIGION. The relevance of this overview is to place it on record that everyone is product of an ethnic group that has been bombarded from infancy with cosmological and metaphysical concepts peculiar to his forebears who were limited in authentic knowledge of the Creator and the Entire Universe he engineered. We are all equally immersed in religious bigotry until we outgrow same by conscientious study. We need to divest ourselves of the skewed indigenous and colonial knowledge we have learnt since birth and lifestyles we have acquired all our lives to be in the theocentric environment to beg for Divine Wisdom from above to dissociate ourselves from ethnocentrism before we can arrive at an International Religion!

ANCIENT PANTHEON IN RENASCENTIGBOREL NEEDS MODERNISATION

The most widely worshipped deity of the Igbo was clearly the Earth goddess, ALA or ANI due to linguistic nuances. Next in rank to the Father Chineke, she is the Mother that manages the physical beings on earth for the benefit of her children. She provides fertility and the food that sustains all living things. She blesses farm work with bountiful harvest. The beautiful landscapes are the result of her proper feminine grooming! The ponds, lakes streams and all other sources of drinking water come under her care. The dead are buried in her bosom! Thus she became the deity that must be placated first for protection before one is clean enough to approach Chineke or else face the wrath of Amadioha, the god of thunder and lightning, the disciplinarian. She is represented by a nursing mother in sculptures and painting. Today, RIR uses this tripartite symbol of a family to depict her;

The Greatest Gift of the Goddess of Fertility in Igbo land is Viviparous Reproduction

It is impossible to enumerate all the lesser deities our forebears had, many of whom are now mere names to us. Among them were the spirits of many mountains, rivers, springs, respected ancestors, and reputable warriors, past kings and queens who had “become gods” at death. Demons also existed in pre-colonial era as malevolent spirits under the command of Amadioha, the disciplinarian. Sickness and misfortune were ascribed either to these demons, to sorcery or to divine retribution.

Gods and men

The gods were imagined to have their own lives, though also needing the service of their worshipers, who in turn were dependent on the gods for their well-being. They lived in their temples, where they had to be fed, clothed, washed and entertained. Part of their time, however, might be spent in heaven or in roaming the sea or the mountains. They might withdraw in anger and so cause life on Earth to wither and cease. One of the most characteristic rituals of the Hittites was the invocation by which a god who had absented himself was induced to return and attend to his duties by a combination of prayer and magic. The relation between man and god resembled that between servant and master. “If a servant has committed an offence and confesses his guilt before his master, his master may do with him whatever he pleases; but because he has confessed his guilt . . . his master's spirit is appeased and he will not call that servant to account.” Confession and expiation form the main theme of the extant royal prayers of Igbo priests.

 DIVINATION IN IGBO RELIGION

Divination is our native means of ascertaining the remote causes of events, catastrophes of misfortunes in our people’s lives. ‘ Igba afa’ which literally translates thus; ‘invocing spirits to reveal hidden information’, through which the cause of divine displeasure was ascertained, was mainly  an enigmatic procedure using cowries, beads or small bones of animals or tokens with symbolic names. This specialised arts is said to be inherited or conferred on native doctors by the particular spirit s/he worships or has fully dedicated her/himself to. The omens, as interpreted by these experts, are either favourable or unfavourable and would give ‘a yes or no answer’ according to the sense of the question put to them. In this way, by a lengthy process of elimination, it was possible to determine the precise offence that required expiation.

Oath-Taking, Initiations and Festivities

Our forebears hardly trusted anyone who had not been sworn to secrecy or confidentiality. To inculcate these virtues of allegiance, loyalty and patriotic ideals in the youth, titled men and leaders, they are initiated different levels of cults at early stages of their life spans. Historical records give abundant evidence for a kindred, communal or town religious cult. The king himself and other royalties take oaths, and a chief priest is always at hand to administer oaths at all important state matters, including royal decrees and treaties, that were usually placed under the protection of Igbo national deities.

    

Before the arrival of the first Whiteman on African soil, traditional grooming of children were organised in each community whereby the norms and mores of the kindred were passed on to bona-fide descendants of the same genealogies. These were the African Education of Survival Skills. Graduation Ceremonies for Batches of Initiates marked the end of the Education in Igbo Cultural World-View.

The proper conduct for religious groove administrators; shrine or temple personnel was laid down in a tablet of instructions that gives some insight into the organisation of a prayer and worship in pre-colonial places of adoration among our people. Divine vengeance is threatened against those who violate any of the norms or mores of the community, commit adultery or rape, homicide or suicide, steal live yams from another’s farm,  misappropriate food or drink brought for sacrifice, who admit unclean animals or unauthorised persons into the temples, who purloin vessels or implements belonging to the god, who fail to celebrate festivals at the proper time and warriors who desert their posts to spend the night with their wives.

    

Achieved Social Status is Highly Respected in Igbo Land for Authentic Leadership as Kings or Chiefs

Many extant texts consist of descriptions of festivals in which the king or queen is the chief celebrant and even doubled as priest or priestess. In some communities, as it is in Eze-awara ancient kingdom, the two posts of royalty and religious and intertwined, so that the traditional leader becomes holy and a role model!  The festivals were numerous and all related to farming seasons; from the planting all through to the harvesting time. The details in costume for males and females signified full manhood and womanhood. Pouring of libation may be done by a chief priest or by the ‘okpara’ the oldest male in the community, such as the crowning or robbing of the king and his entry into the temple, accompanied by warriors, various dignitaries and musicians playing their instruments. Owing to the very large number of fragmentary texts, it has not yet been possible to discern special characteristics of the festivals. They invariably culminated in libations and frequently in a cultic meal. One such festival in Eze-awara kingdom lasted seven markets weeks by Igbo calendar, approximately 28 days and involved celebrations in different grooves and squares.

 Burial customs

Oral traditions abound about male and female slaves having been buried alive with their masters; kings or queens. Ignorance about life after death occasioned the folly our ancestors indulged in believing that their services were still needed over there in the spirit world. There was a burial ritual for a king or queen that lasted 13 days and in which the body was embalmed with local herbs that were very potent in preservation. Corpses of warriors were dipped in the blood of sacrificial animals at their burial ceremonies before they were respectfully laid down with the skulls they captured during epic battles, their obsolete firearms, bows and arrows. Titled men and women were buried in sittings positions. Morticians of old knew enough about ‘rigor mortis’ to have achieved those pre-colonial medical feats! A feast followed their placement on a royal stool in a stone chamber with all their ceremonial adornments!
 

We must pause at this funeral stage of our narrative that recaptures the legends of our forbears. There shall be chapters where the nitty-gritty of mythologies of the ancient Nri, Aguleri, Igbo-Ukwu, Arochukwu and other notable kingdoms will be graphically documented. It is interesting to note that our people abhorred cremation and extreme surgical operations because of their belief in re-incarnation. One burnt or mutilated by surgery or accident was expected to come back scarified and looking ugly! 

Here is a sample of what an ancient record shows about pre-colonial administration in Igbo land before the arrival of foreign religions. The accuracy of the deposited narrative was sketchy.

EZE-AWARIKE ANCIENT KINGDOM, 103 - 37 BC?

THE DYNASTY OF AGU N’EBE ENYI N’OLU; KING ELECHI AMADI VII’

And later his grand son; DIM MBAEZUE IZUOHA, SON OF KING ELECHI VII

1814 – 2010 AD WITH AN ESTIMATED POPULATION OF 300.000 AND 500 WARRIORS

“Vessel of the Holy Spirit of the Almighty Creator of the Universe” was the title and greeting of this High Priest of the 103 BC Ancient Kingdom of Warriors  who were the royal bodyguards of the great patriarch HRH EZE DARA, the oldest male and founder of the Ihe-Ara community of old, today known as IHIALA. His prime minister and second in command in those inter-tribal war era was Obiagu Chinedum Awarike, “a legendary warrior who administered the kingdom with iron-fist hands”, as the records showed. The dynasty of his twenty-ninth descendant was established shortly after World War 1 with a population of thirty thousand citizens and 500 brave soldiers of old.

As a returnee sergeant that served in Burma during the First World War, he trained out an elite squad and forcibly conquered the pockets of warring factions in the present Ihiala LGA. He had a pact of allegiance with EZE DARA I the accredited owner of the farming areas he cleared and cultivated for decades before other allies who were late arrivals settled with him to expand his domain. Obiagu successfully defended the old man from all his external aggressors. He was named; EZE AWARIKE. Legend has it that HE COULD SWALLOW A SHARP CUTLASS AND LATER EXCRETE IT AT WILL. Military innuendos like this signified the prowess of our ancient warlords. To date, our youth who participate in festive masquerades sing a warriors dirge woven around this feat and we still sing it during modern festivities. Other towns all over the hard-working and resilient peoples found in the hinterlands of Africa, have their own genealogies and ancient historical sketches. Intellectuals of Igbo extraction must resolve to forge a consortium to collate and document the socio-cultural heritage of the Igbo race!

   

Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez, the Rev. is an abbreviation for ‘Revolutionary’ not the Christian term!

BASIC DEFINITIONS 
© 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

renaissance

ren·ais·sance [rénnə snss, rènnə snss, ri náyss'nss] (plural ren·ais·sanc·es) noun rebirth: a rebirth or revival, e.g. of culture, skills, or learning forgotten or previously ignored [Late 19th century. < French renaître "be reborn" < Latin renasci < nasci "be born"]

renascent

re·nas·cent [ri náss'nt, ri náyss'nt] adjective newly active: showing new life or activity [Early 18th century. < Latin renascent-, present participle of renasci "be reborn" (see renaissance)]

religion

re·li·gion [ri líjjən]  (plural re·li·gions) noun 1. beliefs and worship: people's beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life 2. system: an institutionalized or personal system of beliefs and practices relating to the divine 3. personal beliefs or values: a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by 4. obsession: an object, practice, cause, or activity that somebody is completely devoted to or obsessed by   The danger is that you start to make fitness a religion. 5. christianity monk's or nun's life: life as a monk or a nun, especially in the Roman Catholic Church [12th century. Via French < Latin religion- "obligation, reverence"] -re·lig·ion·less, adjective , get religion (informal) 1. U.S. to stop flouting the rules, regulations, customs, and expectations of society 2. to become a believer or join a religious organization, and, usually, start to lead a life that follows its teachings

African

Af·ri·can [áffrikən] adjective of Africa: relating to any part of the African continent, or its peoples, languages, or culture noun (plural Af·ri·cans) 1. somebody from Africa: somebody who comes from Africa 2. somebody of African descent: somebody descended from a people of Africa [Pre-12th century. < Latin Africanus < Afri "the ancient inhabitants of N Africa"]

FOREIGN PERSPECTIVE OF THE IGBOS

Igbo, From Encyclopædia Britannica

Igbo also called Ibo are the people living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria who speak Igbo, a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Igbo may be grouped into the following main cultural divisions: northern (Onitsha), southern (Owerri), western (Ika), eastern (Cross River), and northeastern (Abakaliki). Before European colonization, the Igbo were not united as a single people but lived in autonomous local communities. By the mid-20th century, however, a sense of ethnic identity was strongly developed, and the Igbo-dominated Eastern region of Nigeria tried to unilaterally secede fromNigeria in 1967 as the independent nation of Biafra. By the turn of the 21st century the Igbo numbered some 20 million.

Most Igbo traditionally have been subsistence farmers, their staples being yams, cassava, and taro. The other crops they grow include corn (maize), melons, okra, pumpkins, and beans. Among those still engaged in agriculture, men are chiefly responsible for yam cultivation, women for other crops. Land is owned communally by kinship groups and is made available to individuals for farming and building. Some livestock, important as a source of prestige and for use in sacrifices, is kept. The principal exports are palm oil and palm kernels. Trading, local crafts, and wage labour also are important in the Igbo economy, and a high literacy rate has helped many Igbo to become civil servants and business entrepreneurs in the decades afterNigeria gained independence. It is notable that Igbo women engage in trade and are influential in local politics. Except for the northeastern groups, the Igbo live in rainforest country. Most Igbo occupy villages of dispersed compounds, but in some areas villages are compact. The compound is typically a cluster of huts, each of which constitutes a separate household. Traditionally the village was usually occupied by a patrilineage.

                                                            

Left: Leaded bronze ceremonial object, thought to have been the head of a staff, decorated with coloured beads of glass and stone, 9th century, from Igbo Ukwu, Nigeria; in the Nigerian Museum, Lagos. Height16.8 cm. 
                                                           
Right: Maiden spirit mask symbolizing beauty and peacefulness, painted wood, Southern Igbo Ekpe society, Nigeria; in the Nigerian Museum, Lagos. Height 21.3 cm. Frank Willett…

Before the advent of colonial administration, the largest political unit was the village group, a federation of villages averaging about 5,000 persons. Members of the group shared a common market and meeting place, a tutelary deity, and ancestral cults that supported a tradition of descent from a common ancestor or group of ancestors. Authority in the village group was vested in a council of lineage heads and influential and wealthy men. In the eastern regions these groups tended to form larger political units, including centralized kingdoms and states. Traditional Igbo religion includes belief in a creator god, an earth goddess, and numerous other deities and spirits, as well as a belief in ancestors who protect their living descendants. Revelation of the will of the deities is sought by divination and oracles. Many Igbo are now Christians.

Igbo

On both sides of the Niger, but mainly to the east, live the Igbo. Traditionally they have lived in small and often isolated settlements scattered through the forest. Only on the northern and western edges of the area, under influence from Igala and Benin, are hereditary rulers found. In Igbo society there is strong social pressure toward individual distinction, and men can move upward through successive grades by demonstrating their achievements and their generosity. One of the traditional representations of this was the ikenga, that part of oneself enabling personal achievement, with cult figures representing the attributes of distinction.

The lack of overall centralization among the Igbo-speaking peoples has been conducive to the development of a great variety of art styles and cultural practices. 

The earliest sculpture known from Igboland is from the village of Igbo Ukwu, where the grave of a man of distinction and a ritual store, dating from the 9th century AD, contained both chased copper objects and elaborate castings of leaded bronze. The earliest artistic castings from black Africa, these pieces consist of ritual vessels and other ceremonial objects with intricate surface decoration, often small animals and insects represented in the round.

A very great variety of masks is found among the Igbo. The masks, of wood or fabric, are employed in a variety of dramas: social satires, sacred rituals (for ancestors and invocation of the gods), initiation, second burials, and public festivals, which now include Christmas and Independence Day. Some masks appear at only one festival, but the majority appear at many or all. Best known are those of the Northern Igbo Mmo society, which represents the spirits of deceased maidens and their mothers with masks symbolizing beauty. Among the Southern Igbo the Ekpe society, introduced from the Cross River area, uses contrasting masks to represent the maiden spirit and the elephant spirit, the latter representing ugliness and aggression and the former representing beauty and peacefulness.

 A similar contrast is found in their Okorosia masks, which correspond to the Mmo of the Northern Igbo. The Eastern Igbo are best known for masquerades associated with the Ikookochi harvest festival, in which the forms of the masks are determined by tradition, though the content of the play varies from year to year. Stock characters include Mbeke, the European; Mkpi, the he-goat; and Mba, which appear in pairs, one representing a boy dressed as a girl mimicking the behaviour of a girl, the other representing the girl being satirized.

Most impressive are the ijele masks of the Northern Igbo, which are 12 feet (366 cm) high. Consisting of platforms 6 feet (183 cm) in diameter, supporting tiers of figures made of coloured cloth and representing everyday scenes, they honour the dead to ensure the continuity and well-being of the community.

Wooden figures are carved for ancestors of both sexes, varying from less than 1 to more than 5 feet (less than 30 to more than 150 cm) in height. Those representing founders of the village are kept in a central shrine and sometimes become patrons of the market. A great many other decorative wooden objects are made, including musical instruments, doors, stools, mirror frames, trays for offering kola nuts to guests, dolls, and a variety of small figures used in divination. Shrines called mbari, which contain elaborate tableaux of painted, unfired earth, are made in honour of the earth spirit in villages near Owerri in southern Nigeria; and in Igbo communities to the west of the Niger, elaborate pottery groups representing a man and his family are made for the yam cult. There seems to be no tradition of pottery sculpture in otherIgbo groups.

 Igbo Ukwu

Bronzes, which have been dated to about the 9th century AD , were discovered in the 1930s and '40s at Igbo Ukwu, near the southwestern city of Onitsha. (See also African art.) They reveal not only a high artistic tradition but also a well-structured society with wide-ranging economic relationships. Of particular interest is the source of the copper and lead used to make the bronzes, which may have been Tadmekka in the Sahara, and of the coloured glass beads, some of which may have come from Venice and India, the latter via trade routes throughEgypt, the Nile valley, and the Chad basin. It is believed that the bronzes were part of the furniture in the burial chamber of a high personage, possibly a forerunner of the eze nri, a priest-king, who held religious but not political power over large parts of the Igbo-inhabited region well into the 20th century.

 ‘Igboid’ languages 

‘Igboid’ is a language cluster that constitutes a sub-branch of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. There are nearly 20 million speakers of Igboid languages in southeastern Nigeria. In the early years of the 20th century an attempt to develop an artificial form of Igbo called Union-Igbo, based on four Igbo dialects, was not successful. Later a standard literary form developed based on the Owerri and Umuahia dialects. There is a growing body of literature in Igbo, and such Igbo writers as Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, and Christopher Okigbo are internationally known. Igbo also is used as a second language by others who live in this area of Nigeria.

By: John T. Bendor-Samuel

• MLA Style:   "Igboid languages." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite.  Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009.

All the following entries from here to the end are from Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009

Biafra

Biafra is the secessionist western African state that unilaterally declared its independence fromNigeria in May 1967. It constituted the former Eastern Region of Nigeria and was inhabited principally by Igbo (Ibo) people. Biafra ceased to exist as an independent state in January 1970.

In the mid-1960s economic and political instability and ethnic friction characterized Nigerian public life. In the mostly Hausa north, resentment against the more prosperous, educated Igbo minority erupted into violence. In September 1966, some 10,000 to 30,000 Igbo people were massacred in the Northern Region, and perhaps 1,000,000 fled as refugees to the Igbo-dominated east. Non-Igbos were then expelled from the Eastern Region. Attempts by representatives of all regions to come to an agreement were unsuccessful. On May 30, 1967, the head of the Eastern Region, Lieutenant Colonel (later General) Odumegwu Ojukwu, with the authorization of a consultative assembly, declared the region a sovereign and independent republic under the name of Biafra. General Yakubu Gowon, the leader of the federal government, refused to recognize Biafra's secession. In the hostilities that broke out the following July, Biafran troops were at first successful, but soon the numerically superior federal forces began to press Biafra's boundaries inward from the south, west, and north. Biafrashrank to one-tenth its original area in the course of the war. By 1968 it had lost its seaports and become landlocked; supplies could be brought in only by air. Starvation and disease followed; estimates of mortality range from 500,000 to several million.

The Organization of African Unity, the papacy, and others tried to reconcile the combatants. Most countries continued to recognize Gowon's regime as the government of all Nigeria, and the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union supplied it with arms. On the other hand, international sympathy for the plight of starving Biafran children brought airlifts of food and medicine from many countries. Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Tanzania, and Zambia recognized Biafraas an independent state, and France sent Biafra weapons. Biafran forces were finally routed in a series of engagements in late December 1969 and early January 1970. Ojukwu fled to Côte d'Ivoire, and the remaining Biafran officers surrendered to the federal government on Jan. 15, 1970. Biafra, on the point of total collapse, thereupon ceased to exist.

Cultural patterns

This section cannot deal individually with all the groups in the area but only the more important or better-studied groups, for Guinea Coast societies vary enormously. Today many similarities are due to patterns of development in the colonial and post-colonial periods; nevertheless, pre-colonial variations still show themselves. This is true even in such obvious ways as population densities and types of settlement away from modern cities.

Even within a small area, such as southeastern Nigeria, great variations exist. Prior to the Biafran war (1967–70) in certain Igbo (Ibo) areas there were 700 or more people per square mile (270 or more per square kilometre), whereas in the equally fertile forest hinterland of the Cross River densities were well under 100 people per square mile. Moreover, the Igbo settlements were characteristically spread out through their cultivated lands, whereas theCross River peoples to the east of the Igbo lived in large nucleated villages. To the west of the Igbo, the Yoruba built in pre-colonial times some of the largest indigenous towns in Africa.

The third major ethnic group, the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria, lives in small decentralized and democratic settlements. The largest political unit is the village, which is ruled by a council of elders (chosen by merit, not heredity) rather than by a chief. A smaller proportion live in large towns and are culturally much closer to the Edo of neighbouring Benin City (in Edo state) than to the Igbo east of the lower Niger valley.

Nzekwu's first novel, Wand of Noble Wood (1961), portrays in moving terms the futility of a Western pragmatic approach to the problems created by an African's traditional religious beliefs. To the hero of Blade Among the Boys (1962), traditional practices and beliefs ultimately gain dominance over half-absorbed European and Christian values. In 1963 he published a children's book, Eze Goes to School (written with Michael Crowder), and his third novel, Highlife for Lizards, appeared in 1965.

Igboland and the Delta city-states

Many Nigerian peoples did not develop centralized monarchical states. Of these, the Igbo were probably the most remarkable because of the size of their territory and the density of population. The Igbo characteristic decentralized society seems to have been a deliberate departure from the earlier traditions of Nri; monarchical institutions in such outlying cities as Asaba, Onitsha, and Aboh probably arose through the influence of the kingdoms of Igala andBenin. Igbo lineages were organized in self-contained villages or federations of village communities, with societies of elders and age grade associations sharing various governmental functions. The same was true of the Ijo of the Niger delta and peoples of the Cross River area, where secret societies also played a prominent role in administration. Monarchical structures began to emerge by the 18th century in response to the needs of the overseas trade.

Initially, Portuguese contacts focused on Benin and Warri. By the 17th and 18th centuries, at the height of the slave trade, the delta city-states had become the principal outlets of that activity. Various coastal communities organized themselves as entrepôts of the slave trade, so that they would not also become its victims. Similarly, the Igbo, like the Benin and Yoruba kingdoms, supplied slaves to the coast, although Benin had largely ended its involvement in the Atlantic slave trade by the 18th century. The deleterious effect of the slave trade on the society and the economy was felt everywhere, but, in terms of loss of population, those who suffered most appear to have been the non-centralized peoples of the middle belt. The trade also caused severe economic and political dislocations, inter-communal rivalries, and the forced migrations of millions of people out of Nigeria.

Awka

Awka is a town and the capital of Anambra state, southern Nigeria. The town lies along roads leading from Owerri, Umuahia, Onitsha, and Enugu. Formerly covered with tropical forest, the area around Awka now mostly consists of wooded grassland. South of the town on the slopes of the Awka-Orlu Uplands are some examples of soil erosion and gullying. Awka is the traditional home of the Igbo (Ibo) blacksmiths; early bronze artifacts have been discovered in the vicinity, and the town's artisans are still noted for their metalworking and wood carving. In the 19th century, Awka's Agballa oracle, which was subservient to the supreme Igbo oracle (Chuku) at Arochukwu, was an active instrument of the hinterland slave trade. Awka is an agricultural trade centre (yams, cassava, taro, corn [maize], palm oil and kernels) for the Igbo people of the surrounding area. Pop. (1993 est.) 103,100.

Arochukwu

Also spelled ‘Arochuku’ is a town in Abia state, southern Nigeria. It lies along the road from Calabar to Umuahia. Arochukwu was the headquarters of the Aro, an Igbo (Ibo) subgroup that dominated southeastern Nigeria in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was the seat of the sacred Chuku shrine, the source of a much-feared oracle (called Long Juju by the Europeans) that acted as a judge for the Igbo supreme deity (Chuku) and that, as used by Aro middlemen, served as the major recruiter for the slaves sent to the port of Bonny (Ubani) for sale. The shrine and power of the oracle were destroyed by the British in their campaigns against the Aro people in 1900–02. Arochukwu is now a market centre and the site of a teacher-training college.

·        .

Abakaliki

Abakaliki is a town and the capital of Ebonyi state, southeastern Nigeria. It lies at the intersection of roads from Enugu, Afikpo, and Ogoja. An agricultural trade centre (yams, cassava, rice, and palm oil and kernels) for the Igbo (Ibo) people, the town is located in an area known for its lead, zinc, and limestone deposits. Lead has been mined since pre-colonial times, and limestone is quarried for a cement plant at Nkalagu, 22 miles (35 km) west-northwest. Abakaliki's government farm promotes egg and poultry production. A university is located in the town. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 83,651. 

Nsukka

Nsukka is a university town in Enugu state, southern Nigeria. It lies in the Udi Hills at an elevation of 1,300 feet (396 m). Nsukka is an agricultural-trade centre for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), taro, pigeon peas, and palm oil and kernels produced by the local Igbo (Ibo) people. Weaving is a traditional local craft. Coal deposits have been discovered east of Nsukka around Obolo, a town on the main Onitsha-Makurdi road. Nsukka is the site of the University ofNigeria (1960), the first university established in Nigeria after independence. Nsukka is also the site of a teacher-training college and an agrometeorologic station. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 69,230. 

Onitsha

Onitsha is a river port and market town in Anambra State, southern Nigeria. The town lies on the east bank of the Niger River just south of its confluence with the Anambra River. Founded by adventurers from Benin (nearby, to the west) in the early 17th century, it grew to become the political and trading centre of the small Igbo (Ibo) kingdom of Onitsha. Its monarchical system (rare among the Igbo people) was patterned after that of Benin. An Onitsha obi (“king”) negotiated in 1857 with William Balfour Baikie, a British trader, for the establishment of a British trading post in the town.

Onitsha remains the chief entrepôt for goods coming upstream from the Niger River delta and those transported downstream from towns on the Niger and Benue rivers. Roads lead to the town from Enugu and Owerri, and the completion in 1965 of the 4,606-foot (1,404-metre) bridge across the Niger River to Asaba provides Onitsha with a direct road link to Benin Cityand Lagos. Palm oil and kernels are the most important local exports, but yams, cassava, corn (maize), citrus fruits, palm produce, rice, taro, fish, and beef also are traded in the Onitshamarket. The market building, one of the largest in Nigeria, was destroyed in 1968 in the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70), but it was rebuilt.

The town is the site of the Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Cathedral (1935) and the Anglican All Saints Cathedral (1952). Its oldest secondary schools, including the Dennis Memorial Grammar School (1925; Anglican), St. Charles Teacher Training College (1929; Roman Catholic), and Christ the King College (1933; Roman Catholic), are noted for their academic excellence.Onitsha is also known for the annual Ofala Festival, which honours the obi. Onitsha's industries include tire retreading, sawmilling, printing, and soft-drink bottling. A textile plant is located on an industrial estate south of the town near the bridge. Pop. (1993 est.) 345,000.

Owerri

Owerri is a town and the capital of Imo state, southern Nigeria, at the intersection of roads from Aba, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, and Umuahia. It is the chief trade centre (yams, cassava [manioc], taro, corn [maize], and palm products) for a region of modified rainforest that also yields rubber for export. It is known for its handicraft centres. Although there is as yet little industrial development, one factory produces galvanized sheet iron. The town is the seat of the New (Federal) University of Imo, Alvan Ikoku College of Education, and several secondary schools. It is also served by a general hospital. The town is located in one of the most densely populated areas of Nigeria and is inhabited by the predominantly Christian Igbo people. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 119,711.

Abia

Abia state is in East-Central area of Nigeria. Abia was administratively created in 1991 from the eastern half of former Imo state. It is bordered by the states of Enugu to the north, Cross Riverand Akwa Ibom to the east, Rivers to the south, and Imo and Anambra to the west. Abia includes areas of oil-palm bush and tropical rain forest in its southern part and woodland savanna in its hilly north. Most of the population is engaged in agriculture; yams, taro, corn (maize), rice, and cassava are the staple crops, and oil palm is the main cash crop. Mineral resources include lead and zinc. The state's chief industrial centre is Aba, which lies on the railway north from Port Harcourt and manufactures textiles, pharmaceuticals, soap, plastics, cement, footware, and cosmetics. Umuahia, the state capital, has a palm-oil–processing plant and several breweries. Abia state is mainly inhabited by the Igbo (Ibo) people and is one of the most densely populated areas in Nigeria. The main highway network serves Umuahia and Aba. Pop. (1991) 2,297,978.

Aba

Aba is a city in Abia state, Southern Nigeria. It lies along the west bank of the Aba River, at the intersection of roads from Port Harcourt, Owerri, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, and Ikot Abasi (Opobo). Aba was a traditional market town for the Igbo (Ibo) people of the tropical rainforest before the establishment of a British military post there in 1901. With the construction of the railway in 1915 from Port Harcourt (36 miles [58 km] southwest), the city became a major collecting point for agricultural produce (especially palm oil and palm kernels). By the 1930sAba was a settled urban community, and it is now a large industrial and commercial centre. An 18.5-mile- (30-kilometre-) long pipeline from the Imo River natural-gas field provides power for Aba's industrial estate. Textiles, pharmaceuticals, soap, plastics, cement, footware, and cosmetics are manufactured in the city, and there are also a brewery and a distillery. Aba has a school of arts and science, secondary schools, a teacher-training college, and several technical and trade institutes. The city is noted for its handicrafts. Pop. (2004 est.) 820,900. 

Enugu

Enugu town is the capital of Enugu state, South-Central Nigeria, at the foot of the Udi Plateau. It is on the railroad from Port Harcourt, 150 miles (240 km) south-southwest, and at the intersection of roads from Aba, Onitsha, and Abakaliki. The town owes its existence to the discovery of coal on the plateau in 1909, which led to the building of Port Harcourt. With the completion of the railway from the port in 1916, Enugu developed rapidly. Its name, enu Ugwu, meaning “at the top of the hill,” comes from the traditional Igbo (Ibo) village of Enugu Ngwo on the plateau. The headquarters (1939–51) of the Eastern provinces and the regional capital (1951–67) of Eastern Nigeria, it served briefly (May–October 1967) as the provisional capital of the secessionist Republic of Biafra until its capture by federal troops.

Coal mining is still important, but Enugu's economy became more diversified in the 1960s. Near the town's airport, 7 miles (11 km) east, is the industrial estate of Emene, where steel rods, asbestos cement products, and oxygen and acetylene gases are manufactured. Enugu also has a railway workshop, an automobile assembly plant, furniture and pottery factories, a sawmill, and smaller textile and foodstuff enterprises. A cement plant at Nkalagu, 33 miles (53 km) east, uses Enugu coal and supplies Emene's cement plant. Enugu is also a trade centre for the yams, cassava, taro, corn (maize), pigeon peas, rice, onions, and cattle raised by the Igbo people of the surrounding area and is a railway collecting point for timber from Obubra and cashew nuts from nearby Oghe.

Enugu is an educational as well as a governmental and industrial centre. It is the site of theUniversity of Nigeria (1960). It is likewise the site of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (1980) and the Institute of Management and Technology. The state library and a radio station are also located there. Pop. (1993 est.) 293,000. 

Anambra

Anambra state is in East-Central Nigeria. Anambra state was first formed in 1976 from the northern half of East-Central state, and in 1991 it was considerably reduced in area by an administrative reorganization that created the new state of Enugu.

Anambra is bounded by the states of Kogi on the north, Enugu on the east, Abia on the southeast, Imo and Rivers on the south, and Delta and Edo on the west. It includes the valley of the lower Anambra River, which is a tributary of the Niger River. The northern part of the state consists of open grassland with occasional woodlands and clusters of oil palm trees. The southern part includes a tropical rainforest along the eastern bank of the Niger River, which forms Anambra's western boundary.

Igbo constitute the majority of the population. Agriculture plays an important role in the state's economy; yams, taro, oil palm products, rice, corn (maize), cassava, and citrus fruits are the principal crops. A large modern market is located in Onitsha, which is the hub of the state's commerce and industry. Awka is the state capital. A major bridge across the Niger Riverat Onitsha provides a direct road link westward to Benin City and Lagos. Lead, zinc, and lignite are mined in the southern part of the state, and petroleum and natural gas are also extracted. Industries include textile manufacturing, soft-drink bottling, brewing, and furniture manufacture. Metalworking and wood carving are traditional local crafts. A network of roads connects Awka with Onitsha, Enugu, and Ihiala. Pop. (1991) 2,767,903; (1995 est.) 3,094,783.

Umuahia

Umuahia town is the capital of Abia state, southern Nigeria. It lies along the railroad from Port Harcourt to Enugu. It is an agricultural market centre and (since 1916) collecting point on the railway for the crops of the surrounding region: yams, cassava, corn (maize), taro, citrus fruits, and palm oil and kernels. The town has a palm-oil-processing plant and several breweries, and the National Root Crops Research Institute, at Umudike, is adjacent to the town. Umuahia has teacher-training colleges, Trinity College (theological), and several hospitals. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 147,167. 

Imo

Imo state is in Southern Nigeria. Imo is bordered by the states of Anambra to the north, Abia (until 1991 part of Imo state) to the east, and Rivers to the south and west. The British first entered the territory in 1901, when they established a military post in the region. Imo consists of coastal lowlands to the east of the Niger River. Most of the state's original tropical rain forest vegetation has been replaced by more open areas of oil-palm bush. Imo state is mainly inhabited by the Igbo (Ibo) people and is one of the most densely populated areas in Nigeria. The population is mostly engaged in agriculture; yams, taro, corn (maize), rice, and cassava are the staple crops, and oil palm is the main cash crop. Imo is also one of the chief onshore petroleum-producing areas in the country; other mineral resources include coal and natural gas.

Owerri, the state capital, is an industrial and educational centre that manufactures beverages, galvanized sheet-iron, leather products, and soap. The state capital is also the seat of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (founded 1980). The main highway network serves Owerri and Okigwi. Pop. (1991) 2,485,499. 

*It will interest the younger generation to note how the whites acting in league with politicians in Nigeria misrepresent facts they are not sure of! Or, shall we put it this way; that they print whatever is sent to them without independently evaluating the veracity of the contents of the forged history they receive; see the re-writing of Gulf of Biafra which existed there before the civil war as Gulf of Guinea, just to avoid using the word “Biafra”!

Rivers

Rivers state is in Southern Nigeria, comprising the Niger River *delta on the Gulf of Guinea. It is bounded by the states of Anambra and Imo on the north, Abia and Akwa Ibom on the east, andDelta on the west. Rivers state contains mangrove swamps, tropical rainforest, and many rivers.

Several Ijo fishing settlements in what is now Rivers—including Abonnema, Degema, Okrika,Bonny, Brass, Akassa, Nembe (Nimbi), and New Calabar—became important in the early 19th century because of their trade in slaves and later for the export of palm oil and palm kernels. Incorporated as part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1885 and Niger Coast Protectorate in 1893, the area became part of the amalgamated British colony and protectorate of Nigeria in1914. In 1976 some parts of the Ndoni territory in former Bendel state were added to Rivers state.

Fishing and farming are the principal occupations of the region. Plantains, bananas, cassava, oil palms, coconuts, rubber trees, raffia, and citrus fruits are grown. Large deposits of crude oil and natural gas in the Niger River delta are the state's major mineral resources. Major oil terminals exist offshore from Brass and Bonny, and petroleum refineries have been established at Port Harcourt and nearby Alesa-Eleme. Port Harcourt, the state capital and one of the nation's largest ports, is on the southern terminus of the eastern branch of the Nigerian Railway's main line. Most industrial activity in the state is centred in Port Harcourt, which has become one of the nation's leading industrial centres and is the site of a federal university, theUniversity of Port Harcourt (founded 1975). Because the landscape is dominated by the networks of rivers and mangrove swamps, water serves as the principal means of transport through much of the western part of the state. Area 8,436 square miles (21,850 square km). Pop. (1991) 3,983,857; (1995 est.) 4,454,337.

Cross River

Cross River state, formerly known as South-eastern, in Southeastern Nigeria. What is nowCross River state was part of the former Eastern region until 1967, when it became South-Eastern state; it received its present name in 1976. In 1987 the southwestern third of Cross River state became a new state called Akwa Ibom.

The Cross River, after which the state is named, rises from the Cameroon Mountains and flows southward, forming much of the state's western border; it is an important commercial artery in the rainy season. The state is bounded by the states of Benue on the north, Abia on the west, and Akwa Ibom on the southwest. It is bordered on the east by the Cameroon republic and fronts the Bight of Biafra on the south. The state has saltwater swamps, mangrove forests, oil palms, and dense tropical rain forest. Cross River state has a significant portion of the nation's forest resources and supplies a sizable amount of the country's industrial woods for export and domestic markets.

The population of Cross River state consists largely of the Efik and Ekoi peoples. Food crops including yams, cassava, rice, and corn (maize) are cultivated. Deep-sea fishing and shrimping along the coast are also important. Palm oil and kernels, timber, cocoa, and rubber are exported from Calabar, the state capital and a major seaport. Industries produce cement, palm oil, asbestos roofing sheets and pipes, and baking flour. Rivers are the principal means of inland transport. A federal university (at Calabar), a technological college, and a number of teacher-training colleges are located in the state. Its chief urban centres in addition to Calabar are the inland towns of Ugep and Ogoja. The Calabar-Ikot-Ekepene highway, by way of Oron, provides easy access to the rest of Nigeria. Area 7,800 square miles (20,200 square km). Pop. (1991 prelim.) 3,983,857.  

NIGERIA ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARIES IN 1996

Both, Cross River and Rivers are Igbo areas carved out by the Northern oligarch to malign the minority ethnic groups within the region against the Igbo. “I saw the hand of Esau but heard the voice of Jacob” even as an under-aged commando soldier of the Degema Strike Force, 4^thCommando Brigade, Biafra. It is the “divide and rule” policy of Britain; a diplomatic masterstroke whispered into the ears of the illegitimate military dictator in Nigeria then, to persuade the riverine peoples to sabotage the efforts at independence by Biafrans. It worked; ‘divided we fall’ was proven right!

This author, “Nzeogwu the Second”, was a nineteen year old conscripted ‘ad hoc’ Sergeant in March 1968 but by sheer bravery rose by ‘bush commission’ to a Substantive Major by December 1969.

THE AUTHOR AS AN UNDER-AGED BIAFRAN SOLDIER

The Nigerian civil war started in 1967 when Nigeria’s Eastern Region, due to excessive pogroms unleashed on the Igbos in the north seceded and proclaimed itself the Republic ofBiafra. Here, this author as a youth of nineteen years participated in the defence of Oguta, converted to a river port and used to import medical necessities as blockades by land, sea and air became a weapon of war by the Nigerian government. Starvation, hunger and disease; malnutrition, kwashiorkor, marasmus and hepatitis took their toll on children, refugees and soldiers on the Biafran side before it eventually capitulated. The brave leaders of the dislocated Biafran forces then surrendered to the Nigerian armed forces in January 1970.

Photo by;  Hulton Deutsch/Corbis & Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.

“Why did we lose the war of survival? Should Nigeria the aggressor defeat us the victims of their cruel and premeditated pogroms? Of what use were the prayers to a god that never answered us? Or did our leaders commit unpardonable war crimes or indulge in sacrilegious absurdities? Is the Muslim religion more authentic and reliable than Christianity? If yes, then let us join them and go on pilgrimages to Mecca!” 

Finding answers to these existential questions drove the young war veteran crazy. He could not comprehend how an unjust war ended in favour of the aggressors. For him it meant that we wasted all our time and youthfulness in the war fronts praying to the God of Christians! He truly deserved veritable explanations! He withdrew from all religious engagement for a period of ten consecutive years, from 1970 to 1980. That gave him enough time to reflect on some existential questions about all he had learnt from the Christian missionaries that moulded his early life in the junior and senior seminaries.

FAMINE IN BIAFRA

During the Nigerian civil war of 1967 to 1970, the Nigerian government imposed blockades around Biafra, effectively cutting off the secessionist state’s food supply. The resulting famine in Biafra was devastating, as upwards of one million people died of starvation. The swollen bellies and ankles of these Biafran children are symptoms of kwashiorkor, an extreme form of protein-energy malnutrition.

Culled from Archive Photos & Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

There arose the need for him to re-evaluate his belief system, moderate his scrupulous orientation to social life and thereafter, formulate a realistic code of conduct that could guarantee his survival in the conflicting world of the Nigerian society he found himself trapped in! He lived as a war captive for the next 30 years! Within this period, he fully practised the introverted meditative lifestyle of Viktor Frankl or that detached life of a research scientist reminiscent of the great Austrian monk geneticist, MacGregor Mendel.

He earned four university degrees that spanned a period of 15 years, with breaks here and there to assist his eight younger brothers and sisters, siblings of the same humble family of a school teacher/catechist! To achieve this, he again joined the armed forces of the nation he lived as an exile, the fallout of which was that he neatly sandwiched a military diploma, pjsc,from the Nigerian Air Force in between the four degrees!

A bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, sponsored by the Catholic missionaries in1970, then another bachelor’s degree in Psychology, self-sponsored and partly aided by a Federal Government Loans Bursary award in 1975. This loan was later paid in full after his NYSC, which he served at the Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan and Lambo’s Aro-Village System, Abeokuta from 1975- 1976!

This was followed by the three-year stint as an Air Force Medical Officer, NAF 759. Upon winning the Anambra State Ph.D. Scholarship Award in 1977 he resigned in 1979 and later earned a Masters in Clinical Psychology, from the School of Medicine, University of Benin, in 1982. He rounded his training with a Doctor of Science degree in Research Psychometrics, earned by innovative researches in personality evaluation, organisational psychology and family counselling in 1993! This doctorate degree qualified him to join the prestigious AfricanCollege of Research Scientists, Addis Ababa Campus, of which he is now, a Fellow! A rare feat of academic achievement for anyone to obtain through self-reliance, ingenuity and resourcefulness!

For the next phase of his research/academic life he combined family roles and clinical duties, churning out psychological tests for guidance/career counselling, personality evaluation and marriage/family counselling. In the interim he got married and to date has two boys and a girl, who became the well-deserved consolation for his long years of ambivalence!

Today he is a retired Flight Lieutenant in private clinical practice as a HUMANISTIC-EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOTHERAPIST. He still does extensive research in Family Counselling, Existential Family Therapy and Community Medicine. His published psychological tests and books exceed fifteen, as at the last count. He is a respected authority in Psychometrics, a Member of the National Association of Clinical Psychologists and the Founder/Animator of three world-wide NGOs;

i. KENEZ HEALTH KLINIK, an Interdisciplinary Therapeutic Organisation for Family Health,

ii. HAPPY FAMILY NETWORK  an Inter-ethnic CBO for grooming healthy & successful families,

iii. INTEGRATIONAL SPIRITAN MOVEMENT, a Spiritual Fellowship for Modern Scientists!

The greatest contribution he has made so far seems to be in the area of family counselling and existential therapy where he has developed, constructed, validated and standardised more than thirteen psychological tests for school career guidance, pre-marital counselling and crises intervention in families that need help! In addition, he has written nine books covering such areas of knowledge as: social ethics, theosophy, cosmology, social and community medicine. The manuscripts of these inspirational works are, in the real sense of the phrase, begging for funds to print them. 
Can anyone publish these books so that others may benefit from the information stashed away in them? His religious involvement in early life became an asset as this book in moral ethics has turned out to be the best outcome of his contemplative lifestyle. Below are some of the verses he wrote that kept him mentally alive and hopeful that his children would have a better future! You may benefit from reading and practising some of them in your daily living! There are existential truths rather than theological jargons! Establishment of Universal Truths and control of one’s tongue and selfless service summarises ISM.

Double-faced Christians now abound everywhere; they worship Satan at night and come to church on Sundays! This lifestyle has eroded the credentials of our forebears! There is now, an urgent need to redeem our children from these nefarious practices! We must revert to the legacies of our renowned grandfathers, improve on it and bequeath the next generation a better religiouslegacy than we had!

I. S. M. UNIVERSAL PRAYER

The Animator International’s Version

Lord of the universe, the Almighty Creator God, I am your humble son,

Jideofo Kenechukwu, born into the family of Sir Daniel Paul Mbaezue.

In your Infinite Wisdom and Love you have created me for a purpose,

Permit me to understand and fulfil the mission you have assigned me,

May your Holy Spirit guide me to accomplish it in my short span of life. 

My Eternal Creator and Lord of the universe, I know that you exist,

I observe also that all beings are interdependent, we need each other,

Therefore, increase my loyalty and dependence on your benevolence.

I love you as the Father of all that exists, I want to love other beings,

As much as I love myself, permit me to truly achieve this increasingly!

I worship you as my first beginning, I wish to do this as long as I live,

I acknowledge your constant sustenance and care for me and all that is,

Guide me by your divine wisdom, correct me with your eternal justice,

Comfort me with your mercy and protect me with your limitless power,

So that I may obey all the laws, you put in creation for our own good!

I have a princely heritage in that I function at three levels of operations,

In that tripartite functionality of thought, word and action I am like you.

Grant me a large heart and mind to appreciate the universal knowledge

That all humankind are blood relatives and co-heirs of this your ability,

Therefore, we all are brothers and sisters, children of the same Father!

Permit me to fix all my thoughts on you; my words to edify mankind,

My actions to reflect my love for all humanity because I respect you,

And all my trials and sufferings to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do whatever you ask of me, in the very way that pleases you,

Thereby, obey all your natural laws for as long as you permit to live here.

Lord, enlighten my understanding, strengthen my will, purify my heart

And make me holy so as to resist temptations and repent of all my sins,

Help me to rise above human weaknesses and to grow stronger in truth,

So that with simplicity of heart and humane love I may care for others,

And in caring for others may my worship and adoration be self-evident.

Help me to conquer every anger with gentleness, greed by generosity,

Apathy by true charity, selfishness by works of mercy and compassion,

Help me to forget myself and thereby freely reach out towards others.

Let my conscience be clear most of the time, my conduct without fault,

My speech blameless, my thoughts edifying and my life well ordered.

Make me very prudent in planning ahead for all, courageous in taking risks,

Patient in adversity, honest at work and unassuming in times of prosperity.

Keep me attentive at my prayers, temperate at table and sober in drinking,

Firm in my holy resolutions, diligent in my good intentions/ labours of love.

May my lifestyle be exemplary and reflect your infinite goodness for all to see.

Put me on guard against mundane desires, protect me from every vanity

And licentiousness, which can draw me away from obeying your dictates.

Let me cherish your benevolence for all humanity and imitate your ways.

Teach me to realise that the world is passing by and that nothing here lasts,

That my true happiness is being a loyal citizen in your heavenly kingdom!

At the dusk of my earthly life, help me to prepare for death with a proper focus

On your fair judgement, for even guilty I still rely fully on your Infinite Mercy.

Lead me safely thro’ the pangs of physical death to that endless place of peace,

Where all those who have done your will on earth will be adequately rewarded,

With the bliss of singing your praises in communion with your saints forever!

THIS IS THE LITMUS TEST FOR ALL GENUINE KENEZIANS

Anyone who cannot internalise the noble thoughts, words and actions enunciated in this universal prayer has no business joining

Kenezianism, a.k.a. INTEGRATIONAL SPIRITAN MOVEMENT.

Every sane man or woman who lives by the dictates of this interethnic, intercultural, inter-religious, interdisciplinary and international prayer points is a true Kenezian and a candidate of God’s kingdom on earth.

We must be saints here not after our deaths. Kenezianism is the only natural path to holiness.

* Signed at 0500 hours GMT on 11^th March 2001 by Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez

& Approved by the Holy Spirit of the Almighty Creator of the universe. *

  

Dr Jideofo Kenechukwu Danmbaezue, a.k.a Rev. Prof. J. J. Kenez

The Humble Vessel of the Holy Spirit of the Creator of the Universe

Animator International of RENASCENT IGBO RELIGION, a.k.a I S M

E-mail:    saintkenez@yahoo.co.uk   or    agunabu1948@gmail.com

Websites: www.happyfamilynetwork.hpage &http:wwwrenascentigborel.blogspot.com

MY 64^TH BIRTHDAY GIFT on Sunday, 11 March 2012 

TO ALL HUMANITY FOR FORGING A UNIFIED RELIGION 

IN OUR CURRENT GLOBAL VILLAGE FOR LASTING WORLD PEACE.

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About Me

Danmbaezue Jideofo Kenechukwu

As a doctor and a theosphist I am available to all shades of human beings at my websites, e-mails and clinic located at C82, Federal Housing Estates, Trans-Ekulu, Enugu or during the summers; at Ezeawara town in Ihiala LGA of Anambra State if I am not on holidays to Houston-Texas, USA. ENGLISH Greetings to Rational Beings of this computer age! By having a website you are now recognised and respected as a Citizen of the Global Village. You are no more a racist, a chauvinist nor a parochial religionist. You are a special son or daughter of the Almighty Creator who has given us the macrocosms and microcosms to share. Let us live in peace like we ought to, equal heirs to the benefits we derive from being HOMO SAPIENS! Please visit http//www.happyfamilynetwork.hpage.com for the scientific creed and international educational guidelines and youth rearing practices that can make us ONE HUMAN FAMILY living in ONE CREATED UNIVERSE as children of ONE ALMIGHTY CREATOR.   FRENCH Salutations à des êtres rationnels de cette ère de l'informatique! En ayant un site web vous sont désormais reconnus et respectés en tant que citoyen du village global. Vous n'êtes pas plus raciste,chauvine, ni une un religieux paroissial. Vous êtes un fils ou une fillespéciale du Créateur Tout-Puissant qui nous a donné le macrocosme et le microcosme de partager. Laissez-nous vivre en paix comme nous devrions, héritiers égal aux avantages que nous tirons de se HOMO SAPIENS! S'il vous plaît visitez http / /www.happyfamilynetwork.hpage.compour la croyance scientifique et directives internationales et les pratiques éducatives des jeunesd'élevage qui peuvent nous faire une famille vivant humain dans ununivers créé que les enfants d'un Créateur Tout-Puissant.   GERMAN Grüße an Rational Wesen dieser Computer-Zeitalter! Durch eineWebsite, die Sie jetzt anerkannt und respektiert als Citizen of theGlobal Village. Sie sind nicht mehr ein Rassist, ein Chauvinist noch eine engstirnige Glaubensgenossen. Sie sind eine spezielle Sohn oder die Tochter des allmächtigen Schöpfers, der uns gegeben hat,der Makrokosmos und Mikrokosmos zu teilen. Lasst uns in Friedenleben wie wir sollten, gleich Erben, um die Vorteile wir aus Homosapiens! Bitte besuchen Sie http / /www.happyfamilynetwork.hpage.comfür die wissenschaftlicheCredo und internationalen Bildungs-Richtlinien und JugendErziehungsmethoden, die uns eine menschliche Familie lebt in ONEgeschaffene Universum als Kinder eines allmächtigen Schöpferskann.   SPANISH Saludos a los seres racionales de esta era de la informática! Al tener un sitio web que está ahora reconocida y respetada como un ciudadano de la Aldea Global. Tú no eres más racista, chovinista, niun religioso parroquial. Usted es un hijo o una hija especial del Creador Todopoderoso, que nos ha dado el macrocosmos y elmicrocosmos de compartir. Vivamos en paz, como debemos,herederos igual a los beneficios que se derivan de ser homo sapiens! Por favor, visite http / /www.happyfamilynetwork.hpage.compara el credo científico ydirectrices internacionales y las prácticas educativas de jóvenes de crianza que nos puede hacer vivir UNA FAMILIA HUMANA en un universo creado como hijos del Creador Todopoderoso.  

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