An ọgbanje is a term in Odinani (Igbo: ọ̀dị̀nànị̀) for what was believed to be an evil spirit that would deliberately plague a family with misfortune. Its literal translation  in the Igbo language is "children who come and go".  It was believed that within a certain amount of time from birth (usually not past puberty), the ọgbanje would deliberately die and then come back and repeat the cycle causing the family grief. It is also believed that ogbanje are born into the same immediate family all the time or it can even be born into an extended family. The dead child would be cut or mutilated so he or she would not return. Some ọgbanje, however, were said to return, bearing the physical scars of the mutilation.Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart Female circumcision was sometimes thought to get rid of the evil spirit, whereas finding the evil spirits' iyi-uwa, which they had buried somewhere secret, would ensure the ọgbanje would never plague the family with misfortune again. The iyi-uwa is a stone that is the ọgbanje's way of coming back to the human world and also a way of finding its targeted family. The stone is usually buried deep enough to not have been hidden by a child. The iyi-uwa is dug out by a priest and destroyed. Trying to identify an ogbanje can be a little difficult sometimes. Like stated before, some ogbanje have scars from mutilation. Other things that helped families identify them are birthmarks the child had, the first words they would say, and the behavior similarities from the child that has been reincarnated. Families paid a lot of attention to this type of stuff and most of the time go to an oracles to confirm that the child was an ogbanje. An oracles is a person who has a lot of wisdom and says to have communication with a deity. Another sign of an ogbanje is a child who gets very ill all the time. It has been said that the symptoms of the sickness matches the symptoms of sickle cell. The symptoms of sickle cell are dizziness, low oxygen in the body, pain in the joints or the chest, and fatigue. Other than getting ill at times, ogbanjes are always getting into a lot of trouble. For example, a study mentions that a child was introduced into an ogbanje group after the death of one of his siblings  and from there the child was always coming home late with their clothes ripped up or they were just having a lot of trouble school. The family then had a bigger problem with him because he had taken some type of weapon to school and that's when the child confessed to his family that he was introduced into an ogbanje group. Female ọgbanje die during pregnancies along with the baby, male ọgbanje die before the birth of a wife's baby or the baby dies. The child is confirmed to no longer be an ọgbanje after the destruction of the stone or after the mother successfully gives birth to another baby. Belief in ọgbanje in Igboland is not as strong as it was before although there are still some believers. Sometimes the word ọgbanje has been used as a synonym for a rude or stubborn child. Sickle cell anaemia might have contributed to this belief, as the inheritance of the disease within families may have led people to conclude that the children involved were all from the same malevolent spirit.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% The word ọgbanje is often translated as changeling, due to the similarities they share with the fairy changelings of Celtic and broader European mythology. Both serve as mythological ways of understanding what were once unknown diseases that often claimed the lives of children (such as SIDS and sickle cell disease). Ever wondered how a ogbanje is born into a family? Well, ogbanje can be born into family from a spirit between birth and pre-birth. Another way a family has is by being introduced to an ogbanje group. According to a study, a young boy committed suicide and left a note that blamed his sister for his suicide. His father was an alcohol who wasn't around very often and his mother had a low income. The family started noticing an ogbanje in the family when the child 's would go home late from school  and when they found weapons in the child's school bag. The child then goes on to say that admit that he was introduced to an ogbanje group by his sister, which is the same sister who was mentioned in the suicide note    .
An ọgbanje is a term in Odinani (Igbo: ọ̀dị̀nànị̀) for what was thought to be an evil spirit that would deliberately plague a family with misfortune. Belief in ọgbanje in Igboland is not as strong as it once was, although there are still some believers. Its literal meaning in the Igbo language is "children who come and go". The word ọgbanje is often translated as changeling, due to the similarities they share with the fairy changelings of Celtic and broader European mythology. Both serve as mythological ways of understanding what were once unknown diseases that often claimed the lives of children (such as SIDS and sickle cell disease). Sometimes the word ọgbanje has been used as a synonym for a rude or stubborn child. Sickle cell anaemia might have contributed to this belief, as the inheritance of the disease within families may have led people to conclude that the children involved were all from the same malevolent spirit. It was believed that within a certain amount of time from birth (usually not past puberty), the ọgbanje would deliberately die and then be reborn into the next child of the family and repeat the cycle , causing much grief. It is also believed that ọgbanje are born into the same immediate family all the time ; it can even be born into an extended family. Ogbanje can be born into family from a spirit between gestation and birth. Another way is by being introduced to an ọgbanje group. For example, a study mentions that a child was introduced into an ọgbanje group after the death of one of his siblings , and from there the child often came home late with his clothes ripped up . Eventually the child brought a weapon to school , at which point he confessed that he had been introduced into an ọgbanje %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% group. According to another study, a young boy committed suicide and left a note that blamed his sister for his suicide. The family started noticing an ọgbanje in the family when the child would return home late from school , and when they found weapons in the child's school bag. The child then went on to admit that he had been introduced to an ọgbanje group by his sister-- the same sister who was mentioned in the suicide note . The evil spirits are said to have stones called iyi-uwa, which they bury somewhere secret. The iyi-uwa serves to permit the ọgbanje to return to the human world and to find its targeted family. Finding the evil spirits' iyi-uwa ensures the ọgbanje would never again plague the family with misfortune. The iyi-uwa is dug out by a priest and destroyed. The child is confirmed to no longer be an ọgbanje after the destruction of the stone, or after the mother successfully gives birth to another baby. Female ọgbanje die during pregnancies along with the baby, while male ọgbanje die before the birth or death of a wife's baby. To prevent the ọgbanje from returning after the child's death, they would be cut or mutilated. Some ọgbanje, however, were said to return bearing the physical scars of the mutilation.Chinua Achebe "Things Fall Apart". Female circumcision was sometimes thought to get rid of the evil spirit. Trying to identify an ọgbanje that lacks mutilation scars can sometimes be difficult. Other things that have helped families identify them are birthmarks the child had, the first words they said, and behavior similarities from the child that has been reincarnated. Families paid a lot of attention to these types of characteristics, and most of the time would go to an oracle to confirm that the child was an ọgbanje. Another sign of an ọgbanje is a child who frequently becomes very ill, or is often in trouble .
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Belief in ọgbanje in Igboland is not as strong as it once was, although there are still some believers.
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The word ọgbanje is often translated as changeling, due to the similarities they share with the fairy changelings of Celtic and broader European mythology. Both serve as mythological ways of understanding what were once unknown diseases that often claimed the lives of children (such as SIDS and sickle cell disease). Sometimes the word ọgbanje has been used as a synonym for a rude or stubborn child. Sickle cell anaemia might have contributed to this belief, as the inheritance of the disease within families may have led people to conclude that the children involved were all from the same malevolent spirit.
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The dead child would be cut or mutilated so he or she would not return. Some ọgbanje, however, were said to return, bearing the physical scars of the mutilation.Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart
Ogbanje can be born into family from a spirit between gestation and birth.
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Female circumcision was sometimes thought to get rid of the evil spirit, whereas finding the evil spirits' iyi-uwa, which they had buried somewhere secret, would ensure the
Another way is by being introduced to an
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would never plague the family with misfortune again. The iyi-uwa is a stone that is the ọgbanje's way of coming back to the human world and also a way of finding its targeted family. The stone is usually buried deep enough to not have been hidden by a child. The iyi-uwa is dug out by a priest and destroyed. Trying to identify an ogbanje can be a little difficult sometimes. Like stated before, some ogbanje have scars from mutilation. Other things that helped families identify them are birthmarks the child had, the first words they would say, and the behavior similarities from the child that has been reincarnated. Families paid a lot of attention to this type of stuff and most of the time go to an oracles to confirm that the child was an ogbanje. An oracles is a person who has a lot of wisdom and says to have communication with a deity. Another sign of an ogbanje is a child who gets very ill all the time. It has been said that the symptoms of the sickness matches the symptoms of sickle cell. The symptoms of sickle cell are dizziness, low oxygen in the body, pain in the joints or the chest, and fatigue. Other than getting ill at times, ogbanjes are always getting into a lot of trouble.
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Belief in ọgbanje in Igboland is not as strong as it was before although there are still some believers. Sometimes the word ọgbanje has been used as a synonym for a rude or stubborn child. Sickle cell anaemia might have contributed to this belief, as the inheritance of the disease within families may have led people to conclude that the children involved were all from the same malevolent spirit.
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The word ọgbanje is often translated as changeling, due to the similarities they share with the fairy changelings of Celtic and broader European mythology. Both serve as mythological ways of understanding what were once unknown diseases that often claimed the lives of children (such as SIDS and sickle cell disease). Ever wondered how a ogbanje is born into a family? Well, ogbanje can be born into family from a spirit between birth and pre-birth. Another way a family has is by being introduced to an ogbanje
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The evil spirits are said to have stones called iyi-uwa, which they bury somewhere secret. The iyi-uwa serves to permit the ọgbanje to return to the human world and to find its targeted family. Finding the evil spirits' iyi-uwa ensures the ọgbanje would never again plague the family with misfortune. The iyi-uwa is dug out by a priest and destroyed. The child is confirmed to no longer be an ọgbanje after the destruction of the stone, or after the mother successfully gives birth to another baby. Female ọgbanje die during pregnancies along with the baby, while male ọgbanje die before the birth or death of a wife's baby.
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To prevent the ọgbanje from returning after the child's death, they would be cut or mutilated. Some ọgbanje, however, were said to return bearing the physical scars of the mutilation.Chinua Achebe "Things Fall Apart". Female circumcision was sometimes thought to get rid of the evil spirit. Trying to identify an ọgbanje that lacks mutilation scars can sometimes be difficult. Other things that have helped families identify them are birthmarks the child had, the first words they said, and behavior similarities from the child that has been reincarnated. Families paid a lot of attention to these types of characteristics, and most of the time would go to an oracle to confirm that the child was an ọgbanje. Another sign of an ọgbanje is a child who frequently becomes very ill, or is often in trouble