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‘CHI’ IN IGBO WORLD VIEW
We have seen that inspite of the remarkable awareness of spiritual forces, the Igbo like the other Africans, place man at the center of the universe, yet there is the irony that his destiny is determined by the ‘chi’ variously interpreted as his ‘personal god’ or guardian angel. In creation, Chineke, the Supreme Being brings man into being, at the same time endows him his nature and destiny. This nature and destiny are spoken of as ‘uwa’ and the personal ‘chi’ which every human being possesses. Thus if any person does something characteristics of him/her, the Igbo say á» bụ etu ụwa ya dị (i.e. it is how his/her nature is}. The idea of ‘chi’ explains the elements of luck, fortune, destiny or fate unique to an individual. The Igbo say of a lucky man á» bụ onye chi á»ma.
Igbo mythology is replete with examples illustrating the fact that the “
Supreme Being used to be very close to human beings but later withdrew to the sky because a woman used to poke her pestle in the sky while pounding her foofoo late in the night.
This incessant disturbance made God to withdraw. It is this that probably gave rise to the concept of deus otiosus – the withdrawn God, a concept that at God does not enmesh himself in human affairs. It has also been suggested that it could be that it is this withdrawal of God that gave rise to the Igbo expressions:
Mmadụ bụ chukwu a na afụ anya n’ụwa
(A human being is the god that is seen in the world).
Madụ bụ chi ibe ya
(A human being is a god to another person).
Both expressions imply that human beings also can play vital roles it influencing the destiny of others. This is the point D.I. Nwoga tried to make in his very much misunderstood book, The Supreme God as Stranger in Igbo Religious Thought.
T.U. Nwala (1985:46) tried to summarize the concept of destiny among the Igbo by citing two Igbo Sayings to the effect that Whatever befalls a man is – ihe ya na chi ya kpara (What he settles with his chi) but onye kwe chi ya ekwe, (If a man wills, his peronal ‘Chi’ wills also) provides him an escape route from the clutches of fatalism. Thus the element of fatalism, where man is left to the mercy of destiny is mitigated by ascribing some will power and initiative to man. One can influence one’s ‘chi’ by brave or good conduct and this knocks the horn out of fatalism in Igbo philosophy.
It is here that we find the traditional Igbo escape from this apparent fatalism through the basic principle of onye kwe chi ya ekwe. The Igbo believe that if a man is at peace with his god and his ancestors his harvest will be good or bad depending on the strength of his arm. What is implied as Nwala rightly indicated is that the efficacy of the human will depend on a sound moral life because that is the only way he can be at peace with his god and his ancestors. ‘Chi’ is like a personal guide which pilots a man’s prospects and determines his fortune.
For the Igbo three principles are operative in the shaping of a person’s life. We have already pointed to the principle of onye kwe chi ya ekwe, the other two are: (1) akara aka and (2) lfe si na chi.
Akara aka literally refers to lines inscripted on a person’s palm.
Among the Igbo it is believed that what one would be in life is already inscripted on the person’s palm. What can hinder the actualization of what is inscripted are incorrect reading and misinterpretation as well as lack of sustained personal effort. The principle of lfe si na chi implies things that are already predetermined from birth for somebody. However in both principles we observe that: (I) what comes to people are predetermined and so no escape and (2) the relationship between chi and personal effort in the total shaping of a person’s life and (3) the principle of onye kwe chi ya ekwe is a normative paradigm in the conduct of one’s affairs in life. It is a manifestation of optimism and dynamism so evident in the Igbo attempt at self actualization and achievement orientation.
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart brought out the working of the ‘chi’ principle in Igbo life. Unoka had gone to the oracle to find out why he still had poor harvest inspite of the prescribed sacrifices he offered to the gods, and he was also in good standing with his ‘chi’. The oracles confirmed that Unoka was in good standing with his ‘chi’ but insisted that he should go home and work harder because mere offering of sacrifice would not make him reap bounteous harvests. Thus having a good ‘chi’ must be accompanied by being industrious. On the other hand, it is said of Okonkwá» that he is an example of one who said ‘yes’ to his ‘chi’ but his ‘chi’ refused to give assent to his affirmation. The explanation is that no one can go beyond his ‘chi.’
As a matter of fact the Igbo does not give up or get discouraged. The principles of akara aka, lfe si na chi and onye kwe chi ya ekwe serve as ideology of consolation, encouragement, and determination. In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwá» contributed to his own fate. He was consumed by his personal ambition. He failed to understand the basic Igbo philosophy of complementary dualities and consequent accommodationists principle inherent in that philosophy. This suggests that saying ‘yes’ must be understood within the framework of the dominant world view of the people. The Igbo hardly ever resign to fate, they hardly give up in a struggle which they set their minds on. This is supported by their wisdom sayings:
Otụ egwu mgbagbu adịghị eje á»gụ
(If you are afraid of death you won’t go to war).
di ochi anagị akwụsị ịrị enu akwụ maka na á» dara n’enu ya
(A palm wine tapper does not stop tapping because he fell from a palm wine tree).
ebe á»kụ nyụrụ achịsa á»wa
(Surrender comes only after one had tried all one could).
This is also why the traditional Igbo consult diviners and move from one sacrifice to one deity to the other in the hope that some how they would succeed. A world-view as this makes a people rugged and does not encourage the doctrine of fatalism. The Igbo like other Africans pays high premium on life and would therefore go to any length to preserve it.
Igbo world is principally a world of interacting realities the spiritual and the physical, each impinging on the other. It is both the world of spiritual beings and the world of man and other animate and inanimate beings. But man’s existence, his welfare, and destiny are totally caught up with the general behaviour of forces above, around, and underneath him. And while deploying the power of his reason, and utilizing his mental and physical skills to better his lot, man expends as much energy and ingenuity in trying to sustain the delicate balance between the various orders of his world view in order to ensure the continued welfare of his life and that of his family. This in brief outline is the Igbo cosmology whose ideas and ideals infuse meaning and coherence into the entire gamut of Igbo religious life and philosophy. We now focus on the dominant religious and philosophical ideas derivable from this Igbo world view to understand how they have served as key to Igbo self understanding and identity.
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