• Is ‘Ekwensu’ really evil?
In the modern times, Ekwensu is seen as an embodiment of evil; an inversion (exact opposite) of Chukwu – God. Ask any Igbo child of the 21st century what Ekwensu is, and watch him give you a shocking definition and description of a mysterious monster – the devil himself whom God banished from heaven because of his wickedness and sins. Well, big thanks to Christianity for such avid brainwashing.
Depicting ekwensu as the devil might not be a mistake; those who were also born in the 19th, 20th century could still have same conception, courtesy of the colonial, religious extremism we imbibed .
The White men (colonialists) came as missionaries. The latter believed that any way of life or religion opposed to theirs, was evill; hence, the forceful conversion, and introducing alien concepts into the indigenous people’s philosophy. We (Igbo) were meant to believe the doctrines of early Christianity in the Roman Empire who also had seemingly “fetish” festivals and rituals.
What really is Ekwensu?
Ekwensu in the Igbo cosmology is not really the rebellious devil who would eventually be cast into the fiery furnace called “hell” alongside his followers, for daring Chineke, the God of Creation. Ekwensu is not an arch rival to God like Christianity has made it seem.
In the book ‘Traditional African Theater,’ written by Dr D. Akandu; he stated: “Ekwensu does not and never meant evil in the Igbo language. Ekwensu is a god worshipped in the Igbo land, most towns still worship Ekwensu till date.”
It is made up of two words “ikwe” and “osu” ikwe implies “to allow,” and “osu” which could mean “fulfilled or fulfillment”. In other words, Ekwensu does not act without your permission, you have to allow him to act before he acts.
Moreover, Ekwensu is a god and is in the likes of the gods worshipped in Igboland. Like “Anị” and “Amadịọha,” Ekwensu is a powerful god of war.
He is also regarded as crafty, tricky and known with unmatched cunningness in trade and other negotiations. People pray to him in times of difficult negotiations or in situations where critical wisdom is needed.
Ekwensu is a god of war with a violent nature , sometimes, he triggers people into violence due to his violent nature. He’s invoked by warriors during wars and by warriors during wars. Even violent conducts during peace time is regarded as the handwork of Ekwensu “aka oru Ekwensu”
In addition, before the Advent of Christianity, Ekwensu was respected and revered to the point that it became a praise name of some people. In towns like Akpugo, Enugu state, Nigeria. And in Anaku, of Anambra state, Ekwensu could be regarded as a praise name of someone who has achieved great success or a town hero.
It is important to say that in Igbo cosmology and pantheons, there are no two opposing god side – there is nothing like the ‘god of good’ or the ‘god of evil’ – as in Christian religion. In Igbo cosmology, every God is good or evil depending on a man’s destiny.
Ekwensu is a victim of colonial influences, a victim of the erroneous Christian teaching of God and the devil.
Although the worship or the praises has declined over the years few people still invoke Ekwensu and pray to him, towns like Anaku in Anambra still regards Ekwensu as their town’s god and protector, they pray to him and marks a day each year for the celebration of the powerful deity just like the Christians celebrate Christmas.
Ifesinachi Nnabugwu reporting, Obinwannem News
