THE MEANING OF THE BEGINNING: A Perspective from an Igbo-African Popular Religious Philosophy
THE MEANING OF THE BEGINNING: A Perspective from an Igbo-African Popular Religious Philosophy
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| ISBN-13: | 9781477254356 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 09/27/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Sales rank: | 822,852 |
| File size: | 178 KB |
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The Meaning of the Beginning
A PERSPECTIVE FROM AN IGBO-AFRICAN POPULAR RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHYBy Isidore Okwudili Igwegbe
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2012 ISIDORE OKWUDILI IGWEGBEAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-5434-9
Chapter One
Section OneGod and Creation
AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING
i. When and how God lived in the sky
We thought and taught that God was the first, the middle, and the last. He made everything when and how he wanted them. In the great beginnings, heaven and earth formed one spherical whole. God lived with human beings and among them. Human beings saw, visited, touched, talked with and played with God. And because God lived with and among people, it was always bright in the world without darkness.
But one critical day, human beings committed an abomination. One stubborn man recklessly sat on God's stool and a woman carelessly poured water around God's throne. When God called them to order, they failed to respond with proper decorum.
God left his habitation among human beings and went to live in the sky. From that moment, there existed two worlds: heaven and earth. From that moment, there existed night and day, darkness and light. God chose to live up in the sky so that human beings could lift up their eyes whenever they wanted to talk to him.
It became a practice among us to look up to the sky as a way of communicating with God. Whenever there is lightning, people see and remember how bright their days used to be when God lived with and among them.
AS IT IS: to live is to look up to the Gods; to look up to the Gods is to plead with them to show interest in human affairs and to re-establish their dwellings among humans; to look up to the Gods is to look upwards, and to look upwards is to look away from what the Gods abhor—namely, those things that offend life; conduct that offends life suggests that human beings do not want the Gods in their vicinity.
ii. Origin of the sun and the moon
When God withdrew to the sky, the world of humanity was enveloped in a thick cloud of darkness. Humans cried to God for light. God created the sun and the moon to serve as his two eyes, to watch over humanity and their affairs. Whenever God opens one of his eyes, the sun to watch humanity, it becomes day among them. As long as God watches over them with this warm eye, people can work.
Whenever God closes this eye, it becomes dark in the world; then men retire from toil and rest. When God closes his warm eye, he opens his other cool and soothing eye, the moon. With this eye, God watches over men while they rest from the heat of the sun and from the heat of daily toil. God relates to men in such a manner that whether they are at work or at rest, his eye is always upon them.
Although God sees what transpires in the world, he does not always intervene. Men deceive themselves into thinking that as long as God does not intervene, they are doing what is right. But God wants them to take care of themselves, of one other, and to take responsibility for their actions.
AS IT IS: Divine silence does not mean divine consent or indifference. God knows and sees but trusts humanity to do the right thing. The worst form of self-deceit is thinking that one's motives or actions are not known. Knowing and pretending not to know become a wake-up call on the part of the one whose motives or actions are the objects of knowing and pretending not to know.
iii. Why the moon appears sometimes like a half plate and the sun with scattered rays
God gave authority to his two eyes to watch over humanity on his behalf. Sun and moon worked together until one day when they quarrelled bitterly over what punishment to mete out to a man who spilled blood in the community. They were in agreement that murder was a grave offence. While the sun suggested spilling the blood of the murderer, the moon suggested confining the murderer to live like an animal for the rest of his life.
The discussion developed into a heated argument and from a heated argument into a quarrel and from a quarrel into a fight. The moon poked the sun in the eyes with a stash of brooms and the sun retaliated by cutting the moon in two with a knife. From that day, the light emanating from the wounded eyes of the sun looked like rays while the moon is like a broken plate whenever it appears newly.
God decided that the moon alone should watch over humanity at night while the sun alone should watch over humanity during the day. Each alone should decide during its shift the appropriate rewards or punishments for deserving individuals. Till this day, the sun appears in the day and the moon at night.
AS IT IS: Those who work for the realization of a necessary and a higher cause though they differ in methods or part ways are truly united; what unites those who work for what is genuinely good and just is more important than what divides them. Failure to perceive the difference between persons and issues is immaturity. Most times, the enemy does not really exist, what masquerades as enemy is fear or suspicion.
Chapter Two
Section TwoDifferences in the World
AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING
i. Why there are many people in the world
Men think and act like children. Initially there were not many people in the world. It happened that men easily got fed up with one another and cried to God in their boredom. But life is a long journey. God did not want men to experience long periods of boredom.
He made and scattered more people in vast and different parts of the world so that men can always meet and find new, attractive and interesting playmates on the big stage of life. And so it is that men always meet characters different from those they had already met or known.
AS IT IS: men are playmates on the stage of life; they get joy from life by giving joy to others. In diversity, is the gift of choice; in diversity is the remedy for boredom; and in diversity is the secret of immortality.
ii. Why some people are black, some white, some brown, some, in-between.
Originally there were two colours—black and white. Other colours are variations of these two. God the greatest artist was glad to create his replica. In his wisdom, God sought for the best material to use. It occurred to God to use something of the earth since man was to live on earth and so that the earth and man could enjoy a harmonious relationship. God dug deep into the earth to collect fine red clay to make man.
It took God four market days to dig, reach and collect the best stuff. It took God another four market days to work on the stuff to his satisfaction. The number four symbolised completion and the number eight symbolised beauty and perfection. That it took God eight days to make man was to say that man is good and the perfection of creation. In fact, we expressed this fact by calling man in our native language Mma ndu, that is, the crown of life, the glory of life.
When God had finished moulding the clay in his own image, he put the cast into an oven. While the cast was baking, God was busy planting the first tree, the kolanut tree, Arbutus unedo, which was to serve among men as the symbol of unity, friendship, communion, reconciliation, and covenant.
When God brought out the cast from the oven, he discovered that it was over-baked, burnt and black. God was not satisfied with the outcome. God thought at length what to do with this first cast. He made another cast but without destroying the first because God who is the First, Wisest, and Most Loving, does not destroy any work of his hands.
God made a second cast exactly the same as the first and put it in the oven to bake. God continued to work in the garden but with his mind on the cast in the oven to avoid the possibility of another poorly finished product. When God removed the second cast from the oven, he discovered that it was half-done, it was white. Again God was not satisfied with the result. After much thought, God decided not to destroy it. God let the two coexist—the burnt and the underdone.
And because the stuff from which man was made was taken from the depth of the earth, men are buried deep in the earth at death. This is why we call death and burial the great return. For us, to die without being properly buried in the earth is not to complete well the race of life.
AS IT IS: God is the only standard for all; everyone and everything—big or small, rich or poor, tall or short, black or white carries the burden of defect. Humility is acceptance of this; self-realization is the acceptance of the seal of nature.
iii. Why we breathe in and out
God made man in such a way that he would always live with the consciousness of his origins and end. When he breathes in, his heart points upwards, towards God, to his ultimate end, to eternity; when he breathes out, his lungs point towards the earth from where he was taken.
Breathing in and out is a constant reminder of the two most important truths in everyone's life: the present life and the next. Death for us means a final breathing, in which the soul returns to the Gods before the body returns to the depth of the earth.
AS IT IS: We are human because our heads are raised high to the clouds of the ideal and our feet are firmly placed on the ground of the real.
iv. Why men walk erect
After patiently making the cast, God put it in an oven in an erect position with the hands on the walls of the oven and the feet firm on a surface made of the same material as the walls of the oven. The cast was baked while it was erect so that man could walk erect.
When God made animals, he put some of them in different positions in the oven. That is the reason different animals can walk, crawl, wriggle, or assume various positions. That is also the reason human beings point upwards or vertically to indicate the height of humans and point horizontally most of the time to indicate the height of an animal.
It was because the palms of humans were placed on the wall of the oven that they are white; it was because feet were placed on the same material as the walls of the oven that the soles of the feet are still white are not affected by the heat that burnt the first cast or the lack of enough heat that made the second cast underdone.
AS IT IS: there are four postures that await every person ushered onto the great stage of life: crawling in all directions oblivious of danger, walking erect at fullness and vibrancy of youth, moving bent under the burden of old age and lying horizontal at death. None of these postures is a choice but a response to a natural cycle.
v. How we shared our meals and the portions we ate
In the beginning, eating together in the family was our celebrated ritual. Mothers knew what each member of the family took delight in eating and the quantity each person consumed. We ate together from a common dish and sharing meals together was our highest expression of communion with one another.
Chickens and wild game were most of the time on the menu. These were shared according to instructions believed to have been given by the Gods. To the father of the house the gizzard and heart were reserved. The gizzard and heart symbolize the centre of life and they were given to the father of the family to emphasize his role as the head of the family. To the mother was reserved the neck. This was given to her to express her role, power and influence in the family. In fact, we believed that the neck determined in which direction the head and the entire body of the family turned. Our culture was patriarchal in name but matriarchal in fact.
The wings, the body and the hips were given to the daughters. The wings express our belief, conviction and hope that once mature the daughters would fly away through matrimonial covenant from the family of their birth to their marital homes. And by giving them the body and hips of the chicken, they were wished fertility in their marital homes where they would continue to sow and take care of the seeds of our values.
The legs were reserved to the male offsprings of the family to indicate our expectation of their roles of standing firm to continue the family lineage and defend our cultural heritage.
AS IT IS: Confusion of roles is at the root of most crises. To ignore the wisdom of nature or violate boundaries set by her is to court social crises.
Chapter Three
Section ThreeEvil and Divisions in the World
AS IT WAS IN BEGINNING
i. How evil entered the world
in the beginning, newborns were fed with breast milk. Whatever the mothers ate, the newborn ate through breast milk. We described the mother's milk as a special blood in which human spirit, sentiment, emotion, and life were contained.
We believed that in the very act of breast-feeding, a special formation of the child takes place; we believed that in the very act of breast-feeding, there is an eye-to-eye contact, body-to-body contact between mother and child—indeed, communion and bonding of the highest order.
We thought and taught that men were human because they were breast-fed. It was outrageous to hear that a mother neglected to breast-feed her child. This was so until a time when a woman for some unknown reasons fed her child with animal milk. Through the milk, the child partook of animal spirit, sentiment and emotion. The child exhibited strange behavioural tendencies.
The community was concerned and inquiries were made from the Gods. It was found out that the child was fed not with human milk but with animal milk. From that time, those who manifested bad manners were said to have been fed with animal milk.
AS IT IS: There are traits that are characteristically human; there are traits that are peculiar to every culture or family, traits that can be contaminated by commission or omission.
ii. Why and how divisions entered the world
In the beginning, everything belonged to everyone—forests, streams, squares, markets, trees, shelters, etc. People hunted and gathered together and each person used the resources according to his need. Everything was indicated with generic terms such as "man" for all human beings, "brother" to indicate all our male relations, "sister" to indicate all our female relations, "ours" to indicate that everything belonged to everybody.
One day, the only daughter of a poor family was married by a wealthy merchant from another part of the earth. The merchant paid a huge dowry to the poor family and the father of the family divided the dowry in two. He kept a part for his family and presented the rest to the community.
The wall gecko, who has the gift of seeing everything that transpires in every corner of the society, and hearing silent and secret discussions, reported the deceit to the oldest member of the community.
When the community gathered to share the dowry, the oldest member asked the man whose daughter was married if what he presented to the community was everything that their in-law had brought. The man responded affirmatively. As the old man pressed further, the poor man suggested that he should be banished from the land if anything belonging to the entire community was found in his possession. A team led by the wall gecko searched the shelter of the poor man. When they found other items, the poor man explained they were given specifically and exclusively to his family by their in-law. There was a loud public outcry that some items were specifically and exclusively given to one family. It was a big shock and scandal that what was meant for all was described as specifically and exclusively given to a family. The poor man was banished from the land.
It was the day when humans began to make distinctions between mine, yours, his, theirs, ours, cousin, niece, nephew, etc. that divisions entered the world. It was from the actions of the greedy and the covetous that people learnt to convert what belonged to everybody and turn it into private property. Since that day, people have continued to distinguish and divide. Distinctions brought divisions into the world.
AS IT IS: The greed of the poor is most terrible, the wickedness of the poor is most pinching, injustice perpetrated by the poor is most brutal, oppression by the poor is most heartless, tyranny by the poor is most crushing. The perception of the world in relation to me rather than in relation to us often leads to the denial of others.
Chapter Four
Section FourSociety as one Large Community
AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING
i. Why we buried our dead in the family compound
It was a common belief that man did not die. He exchanged state and abode through the experience called death. The dead members of the community were addressed as the living dead; dead because no longer physically present; living because they are still considered alive and active in the life of the community.
Real death meant a total and radical break of communion with the living. Thus those who were ostracized due to abominations were dead even though they were physically alive.
In order to maintain the connection between the living dead and the community, the dead were buried within the family compound. They were believed to hear and follow events in the family and the entire community. The dead were buried within the family compound because we lived, toiled, rejoiced and died with the belief of being together in life and after life.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Meaning of the Beginning by Isidore Okwudili Igwegbe Copyright © 2012 by ISIDORE OKWUDILI IGWEGBE. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword....................ixPreface....................xi
Section One God and Creation....................1
Section Two Differences in the World....................5
Section Three Evil and Divisions in the World....................11
Section Four Society as One Large Community....................15
Section Five Respect for the Elders....................29
Section Six Continuity of Life....................33
Section Seven Injustice....................37
Section Eight Equilibrium....................42
Section Nine Diversity as the Basis for Harmony....................45
Section Ten Joy and Sadness....................49
Section Eleven Caution....................51
Section Twelve Power....................55
Section Thirteen Gratitude....................62
Section Fourteen Tact....................63
Section Fifteen Vices....................65
Section Sixteen Indecision....................80
Section Seventeen the Wisdom of the Snail....................87
Section Eighteen Perception....................90
Section Nineteen Personal Secrecy and Esteem....................93
Section Twenty Virtue....................95
Section Twenty-one Protest....................104
Section Twenty-two Death....................106
Section Twenty-three Our Daily Rule of Life....................114
About the Book....................117