page_title: Odinani
section_title: Deities
hierarchical_section_title: Odinani / Deities
caption_attribution_description: Exhibit in the African collection of the American Museum of Natural History, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Photography was permitted in the museum without restriction.
context_page_description: Odinala comprises the traditional religious practices and cultural beliefs of the Igbo people of southern Nigeria. Odinani has monotheistic and panentheistic attributes, having a single God as the source of all things. Although a pantheon of spirits exists, these are lesser spirits prevalent in Odinani expressly serving as elements of Chineke, the supreme being or high God. Chineke is a compound word encompassing the concept of chí is the creator is a verb meaning 'that' while ékè means create. Chineke therefore means the Creator or the God that created all things. The concept of Chúkwú was largely propagated by the Aro-Igbo of Arochukwu in eastern Igboland who wielded much spiritual force over the eastern Niger Delta in the 18th century due to their operating of the Ibini Ukpabi oracle.
  Lesser spirits known as ágbàrà or álúsí operate below the high God Chineke and are each a part of Chineke divided by gender in their mind. These spirits represent natural forces; agbara as a divine force manifests as separate alusi in the Igbo pantheon.
context_section_description: Chukwu's incarnations and ministers in the world (ụ̀wà) are the Alusi, supernatural forces that regulate human life. In southern Igbo dialects especially, ágbàrà is the term for these forces. The alusi are regarded as channels to Chukwu. The alusi, who are also known as arushi, anusi, or arusi all spring from Ala, the earth spirit who embodies the workings of the world. There are lesser alusi in Odinani, each of whom are responsible for a specific aspect of nature or abstract concept. According to Igbo belief, these lesser alusi, as elements of Chukwu, have their own specific purpose. Alusi manifest in natural elements and their shrines are usually found in forests in which they are based around specific trees. At shrines, íhú mmúọ́, an object such as a hung piece of cloth or a group of statues, are placed at an alusi's group of trees to focus worship. Deities are described as 'hot' and often capricious so that much of the public approach shrines cautiously and are advised to avoid them at most times; priests are entrusted in the maintenance of most shrines. Many of these shrines are by the roadside in rural areas. Tender palm fronds symbolize spiritual power and are objects of sacred power. Shrines are cordoned off with omu to caution the public of the deity's presence. Larger clay modelings in honor of an alusi also exist around forests and rivers. Other alusi figures may be found in and around peoples' homes and the shrines of dibia. Much of these are related to personal chi, cults, and ancestral worship.
caption: Shrine representation of the alusi Ifejioku.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSC-H55", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Picasa", "Image DateTime": "2012:06:02 17:07:19", "Image Artist": "Picasa", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "282", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "10926", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7491", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/13", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:04:02 10:31:13", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:04:02 10:31:13", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "29/8", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "17/4", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4320", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3240", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "4320", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3240", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "10778", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "24b8a4cf8b92e346af918c084db60065"}