emefie ikenga-metuh - ritual dirt and purification rites among the igbo

Ritual Dirt and Purification Rites among the IgboAuthor(s): Emefie Ikenga-MetuhSource: Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 15, Fasc. 1 (1985), pp. 3-24Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1581319Accessed: 27/12/2009 01:31

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Journal of Religion in Africa XV, 1 (1985)

RITUAL DIRT AND PURIFICATION RITES AMONG THE IGBO

BY

EMEFIE IKENGA-METUH (University of Jos, Nigeria)

If one were to tell the Igbo that a certain writer says that alu (pollution) is "Dirt", and that "Reflection on dirt involves reflection on the relation of order to disorder, being and non-being, form to formlessness, life to death",' they would probably say that she must be speaking metaphorically. An Igbo2 may ignore some dirt (inyI) but close his ears and run at the mere mention of alu. In this essay, I want to argue in support of Kristensen's assertion that: "Purification as well as pollution is of both spiritual and material nature."3 They have a sacramental nature. Thus "Dirt" is both 'like and unlike' ordinary dirt. It were better described as "Ritual dirt", or "Religious dirt", which means far more than mere filth.4 I will show that Igbo ideas about "Ritual dirt" and purification see them as essentially religious phenomena. Their ideas about pollution and prohibition have wide ranging psychological and socio- structural functions, but they are not to be reduced to mere psycho- sociological or cultural phenomena.

THE CONCEPT OF NSO (SACRED PROHIBITIONS) My first acquaintance with Igbo notions of nsp was about thirty

years ago as a child, when my parents took me to my home town Nnewi, in the north-central part of Igboland in southeastern Nigeria. On one occasion, I walked across the outstretched legs of one of my playmates. Some of my close relatives who noticed this drew me aside and told me that my action was ns9 (sacred prohibition) because the boy was an osu (ritual slave). They told me to go back and reverse my action by walking across his legs again, but from the opposite direction, otherwise I as well as any member of my family who crossed my own legs would become an osu.5 Later, I learnt many other activities of daily life which are nsa.

Emefie Ikenga-Metuh

The word nsp in Igbo may mean two different but related things-one negative, and one positive. Ns9 means literally, 'avoidance' or 'prohibition', i.e. what one must avoid, or what one is prohibited from doing. This is the negative sense. In some other contexts however, the same word nsp, means 'holy'. The two senses of the word appear to be related because every holy thing-spirits, priests, shrines and so on-is surrounded by a set of prohibitions. Ordinary people may on the advice of a priest or diviner adopt and practise certain prohibitions and thus achieve a limited level of holiness. It would appear therefore, that prohibitions create or preserve the status of holiness (nso), while the breach of prohibitions (nsg) result in pollution or unholiness. Nsp are therefore 'sacred prohibitions.'

There are different kinds of nsg: personal nsp, nsp of the different deities, and of spirits (alszi). Material objects as such do not have nsp. Personal prohibitions are those observed by an ordinary in- dividual. Some of these may be natural, others are acquired. Cer- tain foods or activities persistently avoided by a person since birth are his natural nsp. Explanations for this phenomenon are spiritual, not biological-either that the ancestor who reincarnated in him had observed these prohibitions, or simply that his personal chi (destiny spirit) had included these in his destiny package. Other prohibitions may be acquired on the advice of a priest or diviner. People who hold sacred offices have more prohibitions than ordinary people, e.g. priests, diviners, kings. These are usually believed to be established by the deity or spirit associated with the office. Besides, every deity or spirit has a list of prohibitions associated with its cult. So in Igbo belief, nso are essentially religious rules associated with spiritual beings. Hence, writes Talbot,

Among Ibo generally ... every man has to keep the Nsaw (nsg) which were observed by his 'Chi'-i.e. his twin-soul, Oversoul, or himself in his last in- carnation, and sometimes new personal ones of his own are ordered by the jujus through the mouth of a diviner.6

NOTIONS OF NSQ ALA (EARTH-MOTHER) AND POLLUTIONS

By far the most important and the most serious group of prohibitions are the nsp ala (prohibitions of the Earth-Mother). Thomas comments as follows on the nso ala:

4

Ritual Dirt and Purification Rites Among the Igbo

A characteristic of the life of these Ibo is the existence of numbers of forbid- den acts, known as nso ani, which may conveniently be termed bans, as, strictly speaking, they are not tabus, though that term would be applied to them by many authorities.7

Nsp ala are always linked with the term alp. Igbo writers differ about the relationship between the two concepts. Arinze thinks that the two concepts are synonymous.8 Onwuejeogwu says that 'Nso and alyt may be called taboo and abomination respectively' .9 Nsp ala are the rules or prohibitions of Ala, the Earth Mother. Their breach is aly (pollution). The breach of the nsp of other deities is not alp as the quotation from Onwuejeogwu seems to imply.

Of a person who breaks any nso ala, it is said, "omerw al4" (he committed pollution) or "orryw ala" (he defiled the land).10 The Ig- bo term aljs means pollution or defilement. There are major pollutions or abominations, and minor pollutions. The Igbo use the same term, alt, for the two. Breach of the more serious prohibitions are abominations, while breach of the lesser prohibitions are not regarded as abominations. The consequences are also different, as we shall see. Generally, abominations are serious offences which are believed to threaten the cosmic and social order. All sorts of rare events come under this category of offence, whether they be moral faults like incest, or involuntary actions like birth of twins. The Ig- bo say "afube by; aly"--abnormality is an abomination. It threatens the natural order. The breach of nsp alz generally incurs for the offender a state of pollution and the threat of supernatural sanctions. The state of pollutions and the threat of supernatural sanctions can only be removed by the purification rites called Ikp; aly (dragging pollution). The term ikpi (drag) derives from the main rite in this ceremony, which involves dragging or rubbing the sacrificial victim over the place or persons who may have come in contact with the pollution. This is a peculiar feature of purification rites which is ab- sent in the rites of atonement for breaches of the prohibitions of other deities which are called imeria nsp (repairing nso)-i.e. rites of atonement, as distinct from purification rites. Hence, writes Talbot

Certainly tabus are almost invariably thought to apply to acts which are displeasing to the gods, jujus or ancestors and particularly to the Earth God- dess. In fact among the Ibo, they are usually called Nsaw Ani, the tabus of the Earth, and througout the country, the sacrifices of purification are generally offered to the Goddess, if these prohibitions are not observed, the earth will be unable to give forth her increase and the women to bring forth children.11

5

Emefi Ikenga-Metuh

POLLUTIONS AND THE COSMIC ORDER

So Igbo beliefs about pollutions are closely bound up with the cosmic order. Here I will present a brief description of this order as the Igbo see it, and show the link of its different structures with pollution. The world-view described here is the model shared by Ig- bo communities found mainly in the northern and western parts of Igboland which are under the ritual authority of Eze Nri (king of Nri), whose authority rests solely on his ability to institute, abrogate, and cleanse pollutions.

The total world of Igbo experience, consists of two closely linked sections-ubwa (visible world) and ani mmpg (spirit-world). The visible world is a manifestation and as it were a carbon copy of the invisible world. Everything in the visible world has an invisible counterpart in the spirit-world. Chukwu is the creator of the whole world. He is transcendent and relates with man through his different manifestations-direct and indirect. Direct manifestations are three-Anyanwv na Agbara (Sun and power), Chi (destiny) and Okike (creator). These are identified with God in some contexts.17 Generally, they are thought to be aspects of God himself. AnyanwV na Agbara manifests God's power and majesty. Its symbol is the sun (anyanwy). Chi is God as determiner of man's destiny, while Okike is God as creator.

Indirect manifestations are different powers of God shown forth through different physical phenomena. These have become autonomous deities, but the Igbo still refer to them as sons and daughters of God. The greatest of these is Ala (Earth-Mother), symbolized by the physical earth. She is said to be the daughter of Chukwu. Her cult occupies a central position in Igbo religion and morality. Other important manifestations of God are Amadi9ha, (thunder deity), Agwi (medicine deity), IfejiQkt (yam deity) and Ekwensu (deity of violence).

Besides his manifestations, God created vast numbers of other spiritual beings called alysi (spirit-forces). These have supernatural powers which can mean good or evil for men, depending on how they are handled. The al?si are metaphysical forces in the universe which can be manipulated to bring good fortunes, but if abused, even inadvertently, can spell disaster. So, understandably, they are hedged around with many prohibitions."2

The inhabitants of the invisible world closest to men are the spirits of dead human beings. They include the ancestors and evil

6


spirits of the dead. The former, called the ndichie, bring fortunes and blessings on the living if venerated. The latter (akalogelt) bring only misfortunes, and must constantly be driven away with exorcist rites. From time to time the dead visit the living in form of mas- querades (mmanws).

The visible world is the world of human beings and the material objects which surround him. A big source of power in the material world is ogwt (charms). The efficacy of most charms is protected by a number of prohibitions. Breaches of these weaken the charm, but they do not make the person or his surroundings impure.

This is the broad outline of the cosmological order within which the Igbo system of pollution and purification is conceived and prac- tised. Before I discuss the different groups of pollution and the rites of purification, it is necessary to examine the claims of the Eze Nri whose control of large sections of Igboland was based on his power to establish, cleanse and abrogate prohibitions and pollutions.

THE EZE NRI AND HIS POWERS OVER POLLUTION

The Eze Nri (priest-kings of Nri) claim for themselves a status equivalent to that of the spirits. Every reigning Eze Nri is embued with the spirit of Eri, his first ancestor, who was sent down by Chukwu from heaven to organize the world. Eri dried up the water which covered the earth and thus organized the physical world. By sacrificing his son and daughter, he obtained yams and cocoyams, the main food and cash crop of the Igbo, thus introducing agriculture and agricultural rituals. He introduced ichi scarifica- tion, and the pzp chiefly-title system, thus reorganizing social life. Finally, he organized economic life by introducing the four Igbo market days.13

The powers received by Eri from Chukwu include the ritual powers to control the worship of Ala who controls agriculture, Ife- jioku the yam deity, and Eke, Oye, Afpr, and NkwQ, deities of the four Igbo market days of the same name. He has the ritual powers to establish, cleanse, and abrogate prohibitions connected with their cult. As symbols of his authority, Eri received from Chukwu the gf9 (ritual staff) and the ptonsi (ritual spear) used for the rites of establishing or cleansing al4 (pollutions). Qfo-carrying Nri priests still visit or settle among different Igbo communities to provide pollution cleansing services. In Nri town itself, the cleansing rites

7

Emefic Ikenga-Metuh

are performed by the Ezeana, in the presence of Eze Nri who as a spirit never offers sacrifices.14

PROHIBITIONS AND POLLUTIONS OF THE EARTH-MOTHER

I first discuss the prohibitions and pollutions which the Igbo would call abominations. We may refer to these as majorprohibitions. The others we may call minor prohibitions or pollutions. The Igbo use the same term, alp, for both. The great difference between the two will be seen in the different consequences of their breach. The breach of abominations inspires a greater sense of horror, and car- ries heavier punishments, a more severe state of pollution, and more elaborate purification rites.

Abominations are of three kinds. The first group embraces serious personal and moral crimes according to Igbo morality. Although there are variations, the following generally feature: incest among close relatives, murder, suicide by hanging, fighting with a masquerade, bestiality, stealing of yams from the farm, stealing of sheep, wilful abortion, pregnancy within a year of a husband's death, and the killing of sacred animals, especially the python (eke).

The second group includes abnormal and unnatural behaviour by human beings, like: giving birth to twins, a person dying without anybody attending to him, a child born when no one is present to assist the mother, a child conceived before a girl's first menstruation, confessing one's crimes during illness, death resulting from leprosy, dropsy or small-pox, a child which cuts the upper teeth first.

The third group of abominations includes abnormal and unnatural acts of animals: a dog or a fowl crossing a corpse is aln, so it is if a dog brings forth only one whelp, a fowl lays only one egg, or if a tethered goat brings forth its young unattended."5

The Consequences of Abominations Breach of any of these is all, abomination, whether the breach is

by a human being or by an animal, whether it is voluntary or involuntary. However, the Igbo clearly distinguish between abominations due to human responsibility and those that are not:

8


Thus if a man, Okafor steals yams, the Ibos say: "Okafo melu alu" (Okafo committed an abomination). But if Okafg's goat brings forth its young unattended, the Ibos say: "AIu mely be Okafg" (abomination happened in the house of Okafo).16

In either case, however, a state of pollution results, and a cleansing rite is necessary. Other consequences vary according to the nature of the act which caused the breach. These range from the punishment for the crime (if it is a crime) to restrictions arising from the state of pollution.

Punishment for animals involved in the breaches of abominations, for example, is instant death when caught. Babies, for example twins, are not killed, because killing itself is alp. They are put in an earthen pot and left to die in the bush.17 The meaning and severity of the punishment can only be seen in the context of the Ig- bo conception of the cosmic order. Abnormal and unnatural activities are signs of the disruption of the cosmic order. Something has gone wrong, and danger is lurking. The Earth-Mother could be sending warning signals. The land has been defiled, perhaps by uncleansed pollutions. The response is to remove the cause of the pollution-the animal or the child.

The punishments for adults vary, but the pattern is the same. The cause is removed and the pollution cleansed. In the case of murder, the murderer is required to hang himself, and his property is burnt as a holocaust. If he flees, his entire kindred would have to flee with him and their entire property be burnt. They may return after 28 days if the family of the victim of the murder accepts a com- pensation offer, usually a young girl who will raise children in the victim's name. Then follow the purification rites. In the case of suicide by hanging, an Nri priest is called to remove the body of the suicide from the tree on which he hanged himself. His relatives would be defiled if they touched his body. The body is buried in the "bad bush" and a diviner is consulted to ascertain the cause of his death. Until purification rites are made, the suicide's compound and the area where he hanged himself remain in a state of defilement. Incest is a very rare occurence. Should it happen, the culprits were sold (in olden days). Until purified, the surroundings where it took place remain in a state of pollution.18

The effects of being in a state of defilement are the most feared aspect of pollution. Socially, if the crime is known, "he [(the culprit)] is cut off from social communication, he is ostracised from

9

Emefie Ikenga-Metuh

the market, and if he dies, he is not given full burial rites'.19 Spiritually, he has antagonized the Earth-Mother on whose ground he stands, whose product he eats and in whose bosom he will be buried. He has alienated the ancestors who then withdraw their protection. He is thus exposed and is an easy prey of evil spirits. If he dies in a state of defilement, he cannot become an ancestor. He ends up an evil wandering spirit who can only be chased away by the rites of ichu aja and not venerated.20

This is not all. Defilements are very infectious. An offender can spread his pollution to other people, animals or things which come in contact with him. Even his closest relations could be the most concerned because they are the closest victims. To hide any breach of alu is to harbour and disseminate evil. For a time "one may get away with it, but future misfortunes may occur to unearth the un- treated case."21

MINOR PROHIBITIONS AND POLLUTIONS OF THE EARTH-MOTHER

The vast majority of nsp ala prohibitions are not abominations, but "minor prohibitions". They include some minor sex, mar- riage, theft, and food prohibitions. The states of pollution and punishments resulting from their breach are less severe. Here I list the prohibitions and the punishments that go with them, and then comment on the consequences of the defilement incurred.

Sex Prohibitions Having sexual relations with certain categories of kin (distant

kin) Adultery with non- relatives. Having sex in the bush, even with one's wife, or on the bare ground. Having sex with a menstruating woman. No woman should have intercourse while cooking, even with her husband. Adultery with a woman in her husband's house, which may cause the death of the husband and her children if not confessed and purified.

Food Prohibitions To eat horses-certain parts of the internal chest organs may cause madness.

10


To eat edi (civet-cat) at Nri, ewi (bush rat) at Nnewi. Other towns have their own animal prohibitions. To eat food prepared or touched by a menstruous woman. To eat new yams until sacrifices are made to ancestors and Ala; breach of this was punished by one year of exile and sacrifice of a ram to Ala and the ancestors.

Death Prohibitions

To bury a woman with an unborn child in her womb. To bury those who died during the month sacred to Ala ('bury' here means traditional funeral rites). To mourn those who died of infectious disease, especially small- pox, leprosy, or elephantiasis of the scrotum. Violent death by accident (Onwuike). For a woman to go outside the compound during the mourning period. For a woman to visit the shrine of Ala before the completion of funeral rites for her husband.22 The state of defilement which results from the infringement of these and other minor prohibitions is less severe than those of abominations. This is probably because they are not believed to pose a grave threat to the cosmic and social order. The social horror and terror the breach of abominations evoke are less felt. Culprits in most cases are not ostracized. Infections of defilement are in some cases limited to those who have intimate contact with the culprit, for example the husband of an adulterous woman. The mystical sanctions may be delayed, and may even affect the culprit's relatives after his death. The costs of the items for the purification rites are less expensive.

MINOR PROHIBITIONS AND POLLUTIONS OF THE ALUSI CULT

Every alysi has a list of prohibitions observed by its priest and worshipper. In addition to these, some al4si have a list of nsp-ala prohibitions linked with their cult, supposedly made by Ala, who is custodian of traditional laws and customs. Since al4si are many, I give here examples of the nsp-ala prohibitions of IfejigQk (yam spirit) and Ekwensu (war spirit).

To have sex in the farm, as distinct from the bush, is a breach of prohibition of the Ifejioku cult. To steal yams from the farm is

11

Emefi Ikenga-Metuh

against Ala, but to steal yams from the barn is against IfejigkV, probably because the shrine of Ifeji9kV is in the barn. Even failure to report yam theft is a breach of its prohibition. Breach of any of these automatically puts an offender in a state of pollution. Besides, he has offended the spirit (IfejiQkV), who may exact his vengeance any moment. He dares not approach his altar, or take part in rituals at its shrine until he performs a purificatory sacrifice to cleanse the state of pollution.23

Ekwensu is the spirit of violence. It may incite people to murder in peace-time and acts of valour in war-time. However, since the Earth-Mother prohibits the taking of human life, killing in war though celebrated as an act of bravery, is also a pollution which must be purified by rites. Owing to the dangerous nature of this spirit, it is also pollution to eat any meat sacrificed to him.24

MINOR PROHIBITIONS AND POLLUTIONS AGAINST ANCESTORS

The ancestors are ndichie (elders) of the family. Their role is to protect and promote the welfare of their families. Many prohibitions are believed to strain the relations between the living and their ancestors. Breach of any of these puts the offender in a state of pollution. The effects of this pollution are still less than those against the spirits, since they regulate the relationships between family members. Besides, the ancestors would not normally deal harshly with their offspring. The following are some of the prohibitions against the ancestors:

Matrimonial Prohibitions

For a woman to declare herself a widow while her husband is alive, or to do things which amount to this. If a woman pushes her husband down. To have sex with a girl before her first menstruation. For a member of the family to sell any part of the family land without the consent of the living members and the ancestors. Adultory of the wife, not involving incest (this threatens the life of the husband and the child born after it). Place and Time Prohibitions:

A house is deemed unclean if the following take place in it: Birth of a child; menstruation; if a woman cries in it.

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Ritual Dirt and Purifcation Rites Among the Igbo

A compound is considered unclean before a festival and must be ritually cleansed. A bed is unclean if a woman passes urine on it.25 As breaches of sexual offences affecting women are believed to cause difficulty at childbirth, or serious illness and frequent deaths in the family, confessions are encouraged and sometimes demand- ed. A woman must confess all sexual offences on arrival at her husband's home, before childbirth, and sometimes during her husband's illness.

Any of the time and place prohibitions must be cleansed by purification rites. There is no prohibition to menstruate, or to cry in a house, but there is an obligation to avoid persons and places affected by these activities. There is also an obligation to purify persons and things affected by the pollution, the failure of which is believed to herald misfortunes attributed to the anger of the Earth- Mother and the ancestors who are protectors of the home and family.

PURIFICATION RITES OF ABOMINATIONS

Purification rites for abominations will be discussed in two parts. I will first discuss purification rites for the cleansing of the whole community of abominations. This often takes the form of a scapegoat sacrifice. Then, I will describe the purification rites for different types of abomination. Both kinds of purification rites are called Ikpy alt (dragging pollution).

In some places, the ritual purification of the community takes place annually, and at other times recommended by the diviner. Before the colonial era, in some places, these periodic purification rites required a human victim.26 In other places, cows or rams were used. This has now become the common practice. The priest on this occasion is an Nri priest. The victim is called "Onye Uma" (One on whom it has fallen), the sin bearer. The priest solemnly transfers first his own sins, then the sins of his family and finally the sins of the entire community to the head of the victim. Then, a rope is tied to its legs and it is dragged alive through every nook and cor- ner of the village. The scope is to make the victim cean up all the defilements spread in the village. The people follow behind and shout "Al4!", jeering and mocking at the abomination, which the victim has now become. The dead body is finally thrown away in the "bad bush" or into a river if there is one close by.27

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Emefie Ikenga-Metuh

Purification ritesfor different abominations

Incest involving very close relatives is an abomination, an outrage to Ala, and therefore a matter of public concern. If the accused admit the crime, the priest of Ala takes a kola-nut and prays: "Ala and ancestors, if such a thing occurred in the past it was not concealed ... Ala, be not angry with us. These two have committed abomination, and we will rid the land of their presence". He then splits the kola-nut and throws it on the ground. The offenders are exiled, while a purificatory sacrifice is arranged by the elders.

The purificatory sacrifice in some places may involve a calf, a chicken, and some yams. The priest, an Nri man or an Ezeana, ties a rope around the neck of the calf, and on the legs of the chicken and drags the chicken on his left hand and leading the calf on his right followed by his sons with the yams, he parades round the com- pounds of the kindred, saying: "I am removing pollution from the land." He then goes to the 'bad bush' and leaves the animals and yams there.28

Murder or even homicide is an abomination against Ala. The murderer is required to hang himself for killing one of Ala's children. His property is immediately burnt. His brothers are required to offer a sacrifice to Ala before burying his body. This involves an offering of eight yams and one chicken. The Ezeana, in the presence of an Nri man, sacrifices these at the shrine of Ala with the following prayers: "Ala, this chicken and those yams have been given to you by the brother of the man who killed your child and hanged himself. He beseeches you to accept these gifts and to refrain from pursuing the brothers and children of the murderer. He who killed a fellow-man has also killed himself. Let his crime therefore follow him to the next world."29

If the murderer flees, his kindred must flee with him and their properties are burnt. They may return after the bereaved family accepts an settlement.

A ritual cleansing of their compound called Izafu nty p9chy (the sweeping out of the ashes of murder) is necessary before its reoc- cupation. The ada (senior daughters) of both kindreds tie a cock and a hen together and walk with them around the compound saying 'Ala, do not permit such a thing to happen again. Ala, do not be angry with us'. They then collect the sweepings of the compound and throw them and the two fowls into the 'bad bush'.30

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PURIFICATION RITES FOR MINOR POLLUTIONS

The cleansing rites for breaches of minor prohibitions also involve sacrifices called ikpy ali (dragging pollution), even though in some cases the victim is not dragged around the things or places polluted. This seems to imply that the pollution affects persons more than things. Besides sometimes the purification involves im- molation of the victim, followed by a confession of sins and a communal meal. It is thus a joyful sacrifice usually characterized by a communion meal, which symbolises restored communion with the deity and the worshipping community. Offerings in purification sacrifices for abomination as in other joyless sacrifices, are never eaten. By being dragged around polluted places, they absorb the pollutions and become themselves the abomination which must be got rid of.

Purification rites for breaches of minor incest (e.g. incest prohibitions between distant relatives), take place at the shrine of Ala. The priest in this case is an Nri priest, or the priest of Ala in the locality where one is found. The victim, usually a ram, is sacrificed at the shrine by being slashed into two halves while the names of the offenders are pronounced. They then confess their sins before the shrine, after which their bodies are smeared with ashes. This con- stitutes the outward sign of repentance. The absolution is pronounced by the priest and the assembled folk declare to the spirit that they are satisfied. The culprits then are pure and may resume association with friends and relatives from whom, because of the abomination committed, they had been estranged.31

PURIFICATION RITES AGAINST THE ALUSI (SPIRITS) Breaches of prohibitions of the spirits not only bring about a state

of pollution, but also anger the spirits. The purification rites try to reverse these two situations-to cleanse the pollution, and to placate the offended spirit. In some cases, these two objectives are achieved in one group of rituals as in the purification rites offered to Ifeji9Qk described below. In other cases, it involves two different sets of rituals-one to cleanse the pollution, and the other to placate the spirit. I illustrate this with the purification rites of pollution involving IfejiQkV and Ekwensu spirits.

The crime of yam theft from the barn brings a state of pollution on the culprit, the cleansing of which requires a purification

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Emefic Ikenga-Metuh

sacrifice. This involves the sacrifice of a chicken at the shrine of Ife- jioku, by the owner of the barn, who is also its priest, with the following prayer: "This fowl is given to you Ajoku, to purify you from the pollution of defiled hands".32 Then the fowl's neck is deeply cut and blood is allowed to drip on the altar of the spirit. The meat is eaten in a communal meal by the priest and his assistants.

Purification rites so offered to Ekwensu demonstrate both the character of the deity and symbols used in the purification rites. To kill an enemy in a war is an act of bravery and an achievement. However, it also brings a state of pollution on the killer. So, as soon as a warrior comes back with the head of the enemy, he must take it to the priest of Ekwensu, (together with a chicken), who lays it in front of the carved image of the spirit. The priest then pours some medicine extracted from the Akprp leaves (a creeping plant) over the warrior's hands saying: "You are washing off the evil." He then pours a libation over the skull, saying, "Let not your ghost worry this man who killed you. He is not the first man to begin the thing he did." He then addresses Ekwensu, as follows: "This man went somewhere and returned with a head. He is not the first or second to do so. He followed the ancient practice permitted by Chukwu and Ala. Do not kill him therefore and do not permit the ghost of the man to pursue him". The priest finally shaves the head-getter's hair. A public dance follows in which the new head-getter joins with other head-getters.

PURIFICATION OF POLLUTION AGAINST ANCESTORS

The breaches of the more serious pollution against the ancestors often require purificatory sacrifices. Less serious pollutions are purified by very simple rites which do not involve sacrifices. Many cases of adultery of a wife, or sexual offences involving a woman, require open confession before the pollution rites can take effect. In some Igbo communities, the state of pollution resulting from the adultery of a wife could cause the death of her husband. If not confessed, it could also bring about her own death when giving birth. The pollution is cleansed by a purification sacrifice preceded by a rite of confession which has also features of a purificatory rite.

The rite of confession called isa ifi (confessing transgressions), is presided over by the ada (senior sister of the family). The accused, standing before the family gpf (ancestral symbol), takes a chicken in

16


her hands, and waves it before the QfQ whilst making her confession. The fowl is forthwith killed and the blood sprinkled upon the pfp by the pkpala (senior male) as a token of expiation and to seal the acceptance of her confession.33

Then follow what appear to be rites of absolution and purification of the pollution. The ada takes a fowl and passes it round the legs of the adulteress saying: "Let the spirit which seduced you to do this evil depart from you so that you may never again commit a similar offence."

The fowl is then killed, cooked and eaten by women who have passed child-bearing age. In other places, before marital relations resume between a husband and his adulterous wife, a fowl, eggs, yams and kola-nuts are offered to the ancestors by the gkpala and the couple eat these together.34

The cleansing rites of a polluted house or compound after birth or before a festival, is performed by the ada. Everything is removed from the house. The victim, usually a fowl, is killed, and the ada sprinkles the blood on every article supposed to be defiled, saying as she does so, "Aly pua" (pollution, depart). Next, she ceremonially touches every person with the victim and, after bathing, they are clean once more. The articles are washed and returned to the house. The victim is thrown away, not eaten.35

PROHIBITIONS, POLLUTIONS AND PURIFICATION RITES AS RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA

In the above analysis, three different but very closely linked phenomena are discussed-prohibitions, pollutions and rites of purification. In a sense, the meaning of one cannot be determined without a good knowledge of the other two. For pollutions result from breach of prohibitions and purification rites are essentially means of getting rid of pollution. Therefore, anybody who is in- terested in studying the significance of pollution in all its dimen- sions should not ignore the prohibitions which may cause them, or the purification rites which cleanse them.

The religious dimension of prohibition can be seen from various perspectives. The Igbo terms used-nsp, and nsp ala, suggest that they are religious rules. I have translated nsp as "sacred prohibitions" and nsp ala as "sacred prohibitions of the Earth-Mother". Besides, sacred prohibitions are differentiated with reference to the

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deity by whom they are established. Some prohibitions are established by Ala the Earth-Mother, others are sacred prohibitions of the ancestors. Other deities and spirits have their own prohibitions. Even supernatural explanations are given for avoidance- habits which a child has from birth or early childhood. These, the Igbo think, are given by his Chi, or explained in terms of reincarna- tion-they are those observed by the ancestor who is reincarnated in him.

The supernatural origin of sacred prohibitions is not contradicted by the fact that most of them are actually rules enacted by the Nri priestly clan or the priests of the different deities. The Igbo know this. In fact, some communities from time to time request the Eze Nri to establish or abrogate some sacred prohibitions for their benefit. In other words, they want certain laws to be invested with religio-ritual sanctions to ensure their strict observance. This may well be because they realize that they do not have effective coercive force to implement them. They therefore appeal to supernatural powers. These supernatural beings for the Igbo are deities, spirits, and ancestors. Thus the Igbo would not doubt the socio-structural and moral functions of sacred prohibitions, but they would still say that sacred prohibitions are essentially religio-ritual rules; otherwise they would be meaningless and useless.

Questions are often raised about the relationship between prohibitions and morality, and between pollutions and sin. Some prohibitions, like those of incest, murder, theft, cover some areas of morality, but their primary purpose is not morality. Prohibitions binding on animals and babies obviously do not have morality as their primary objective. The Igbo know this; hence the phrases "Okafor committed abomination" and "abomination occurred in Okafor's house" mean completely different things. Some sins may be abominations, but not all abominations are sins. They are rather religious offences. They are breaches of divine rules about life and death and admit of no exceptions. Their breach is "sin"- understood in the religious, not in the ethical sense:

For to "sin" is the same as to transgress the divine law, the law of abiding and eternal life. Sin is death."36

Only purification can remove the state of pollution and restore the communication with the divine which is the source of life.

In view of this it is incorrect to translate nsp ala as 'taboos.' The

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Ritual Dirt and Purfication Rites Among the Igbo

term taboo has been used in moder Western writings to refer to such a wide range of things that it is no longer useful for com- parative analysis. Moreover, to the extent that a taboo "is more ac- curately defined by its lack of any external sanction, religious, or temporal",37 nsp ala are not taboos. Most nsp ala attract both temporal and religio-ritual sanctions. Their breach makes the offender liable to social sanctions, as well as a state of pollution and a threat of supernatural sanctions if the pollution is not cleansed with ap- propriate purification rites.

Pollution or dirt

The Igbo ideas about pollution are both similar and dissimilar to their ideas about dirt. This is evident even in the Igbo word for pollution, and the symbolisms employed in the purification rites. The Igbo term ali (pollution) in its verbal form il4 may mean 'to defile', but it also means 'to desecrate' and weaken. These two senses, I think, are related if seen in the context of the Holy. A thing or person is holy, if he is protected by sacred prohibitions. He is full of life and power. Breach of sacred prohibitions defiles, and consequently desecrates and renders the holy object ineffective. It weakens and eventually brings about its death. This outlook has a spiritual dimension which the ordinary concept of dirt does not have.

The symbolism used in rites for the cleansing of pollution sug- gests that what is being cleansed is in fact 'dirt' or something similar to it. Rubbing or scrubbing features prominently in the rites of cleansing defiled persons and places. Burning and throwing away the ashes feature in the purification rites after murder. Washing with water or sprinkling with medicine all indicate different ways of dealing with dirt. However, when these symbolic actions are accompanied by prayers and sacrifices which sometimes end with a communion meal, one should at least suspect that a more serious issue than the disposal of filth is involved. In fact, the prayers if examined show that an essentially religious activity is in course. Hence, writes Kristensen:

Ritual purification is an outward material act, which at the same time is spiritually active, it is thus an act whose effects range farther than is evident from the observable results.38

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Purification Rites

It will be labouring the obvious to begin to argue that most of the rites of purification described above are religious rites. The rites generally are addressed to specific divinities-Earth-Mother, the ancestors, or one or other of the spirits. Special priests, or a priest of the deity involved, officiate at the rituals which often take place at its shrines. The rites themselves, which include prayers, symbolic activities of cleansing, ritual killing and offering of the blood of the victim, all speak of essentially religious activities. I comment here briefly only on the notion, character and meaning of Igbo purification rites.

The notion of Igbo purificatory rites becomes clear when com- pared with other sets of rites for removing evil. There are three different types of rituals for dealing with evil, and the Igbo have different names for them: icht aja-sacrifices to drive away evil spirits; imeria mmrp-sacrifices of propitiation; and ikpy aly--sacrifices of purification. These sacrifices assume different dispositions in the divine, and seek to come to terms with these dispositions in different ways. The first, ichy aja, assumes the presence of evil spirits, and seeks to drive (ichtk) them away. The second, imeria mmyp, assumes that the deity is somehow offended by an act of omission or commission. The aim is to atone for the guilt (expiate) and thus ap- pease (propitiate) the deity. The third, ikpy aly, takes place in a situation of a different kind in that it perhaps affects the worship- pers more than the deity. The state of pollution renders him impure and alienates him not only from the deity, but also from the entire world of the sacred.

Thus the purificatory rite properly so called centres around the defiled worshipper, or the human surroundings, not the deity. Only secondarily does it include the idea of propitiation. So, characteristically, in the purification rites described above, the symbolism of cleansing the object defiled predominates. In the rites of the purification of the community, for example, there is hardly any reference to the deity-the Earth-Mother. The pollution resulting from the sins of the community is so great that a substitutionary offering of a scapegoat kind is made. A human or animal victim is substituted for the community. The offering is dragged through the polluted places in the community to ritually sweep clean or absorb the dirt. The victim thus loaded with dirt is thrown away. The idea of communion is abhorrent in this sort of sacrifice.

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In the purification rites for incest, the rites of expiation appear together with the purification rites. The offering of kola-nuts with prayers for forgiveness is a rite of propitiation and expiation. The expulsion of the culprits and the substitutionary sacrifice in which a calf and a hen, substitutes for the culprits, are dragged through the defiled places and then thrown away, are rites of purification. Also in the case of murder, expiation and purification rites feature side by side. The purification rites include the death of the murderer who is required to hang himself, the burning of all his property, and the ritual sweeping away of "the ashes of murder".

In the purification sacrifices for minor pollutions, the expiatory rites receive more emphasis to the point that communion is permitted after the sacrifice, but still the purificatory aspects predominate. In sexual offences, the purificatory rites include confessions, pro- nouncing of absolutions, rubbing penitents with ashes or with the sacrificial victim, and slashing the victim into two to symbolise the bond which has arisen between the accomplices because of the incest. Ablutions appear only in the case of defilement caused by menstruation (with water), killing in war (with medicine), and after birth (with blood).

CONCLUSION

In the study of African religions, as indeed the study of any religion, there is need to make a clear distinction between the study of religion as a dimension of human life 'sui generis' and the study of other human phenomena which are interwoven with religion.39 An- thropological, sociological and psychological studies of religion have made invaluable contributions to the study of African religions and will continue to do so. However, one must realize that these studies focus on the milieu or functions of religion, not on the study of religion as such. It is wrong to explain religion as a mere sociological or psychological phenomenon. This would be explain- ing it away or reducing it to what it is not. It is true that traditional world views are holistic. However, this must not be exaggerated to the point of saying that there is absolutely no distinction made between its component parts. Perhaps it may be more correct to say that nature in these world-views is seen to have a sacramental character. The visible is symbol of the invisible, not identical with it. Certain human activities have a sacramental character. They

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Emefic Ikenga-Metuh

have spiritual efficacy in that they evoke divine intervention in human affairs.

The Igbo world-view shows a close bond as well as a degree of differentiation between the visible and the invisible, the divine and human beings. The Igbo clearly distinguish between human laws and sacred prohibitions. Even in some cases some request that human laws be declared sacred prohibitions, thus investing them with the status and sanctions of religious laws. Here one sees religious belief as an independent variable, empowering a socio- cultural institution. The religious is thus put to a socio-cultural use, and is not a mere socio-cultural phenomenon.

The ambivalent character of purification rites as both apotropaeic (driving away evil) and conferring divine life, as sug- gested by Kristensen and van der Leeuw, is not immediately in evidence in Igbo purification. However, it can be inferred. In the substitutionary annual human sacrifice to cleanse the community, the community dies (in the victim) at the end of each year in order to have a more wholesome life in the new year. In the purification for incest, the accomplices are expelled, which is a sort of death, and a calf and a hen which are substituted for them are ritually dragged through the streets of the village and then thrown away. They carry away death, so that a secure and wholesome life may thrive. Thus evil brings death, and the purification rites which removes death, restores life, by re-establishing links with the divine which is the source and fullness of life.

Al4 may in fact be "Dirt", but in the religious sense, which means far more than mere filth. According to van der Leeuw:

Dirt means all the hindrances and annoyances that prevent the perpetuation and renewal of life, so that some celebration must set the arrested current in motion again.40

It is thus understandable how "Dirt" could be caused by incest, murder, having sex while cooking, and that its purification could be effected by dragging cows, goats and chickens through the streets, or by slaughtering them at the shrines.

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NOTES

1. Douglas, Mary, Purity and danger. New York: Praeger 1966, 5. 2. The name is pronounced 'Igbo' and I use this form, rather than 'Ibo', except

in quotations. 3. Kristensen, W. B., The meaning of religion. The Hague: Nijhoff 1960, 445. 4. Leeuw, G. van der, Religion in essence and manifestation: a study in phenomenology.

London: Alien and Unwin 1938, 343. 5. On the osu institution, see Basden, G. T., Niger Ibos, London: Seeley Service

1938, 243-258. 6. Talbot, P. A., The peoples of Southern Nigeria, III, London: O.U.P. 1926, 739. 7. Thomas, N. W., Anthropological reports on the Ibo-speaking peoples of Nigeria, part

I. London: Morison n.d., 59. 8. Arinze, P. A., Sacrifice in Ibo religion. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press 1970,

34. 9. Onwuejeogwu, M. A., An Igbo civilization: Nri kingdom and hegemony. London:

Ethnographia 1981, 43. 10. Ibid. 11. Talbot, 708. 12. Thomas, 48; cf. Talbot 596. 13. Onwuejeogwu, 34. Eri the founder of Nri is said to have established the

alusi associated with the four Igbo market days, Eke, Oye, Afor and Nkwd. Nri is the name of the kingly title as well as that of the Agukwu town, which is known as Agukwu-Nri.

14. Thomas, 48. In addition to this ritual prohibition, he may also not see a corpse, even of one of his children, or an alusi, i.e. the statue of a god; he does not eat kola-nuts offered in sacrifice. No one, male or female, who has passed the age of puberty may cook for him.

15. Arinze, 35. 16. Ibid. 17. Thomas, 52. 18. Meek, C. K., Law and authority in a Nigerian tribe. London: O.U.P. 1937,

209. 19. Arinze, 35. 20. Ibid. 21. Onwuejeogwu 44. 22. Compare the lists in Talbot 740ff; Thomas 60ff, Onwuejeogwu, 52-54. 23. Meek, 215. 24. Meek 39. Ekwensu has now been wrongly identified with the Devil of Chris-

tian and Muslim traditions. 25. Basden, 62. 26. Basden, 73. 27, Meek, 219. 28. Meek, 210. 29. Ibid. 30. Basden, 61. 31. Ibid. 32. Meek, 215. Ajoku, Njoki, are dialectal variations of Ifejioku. It is a

household god, and the householder is the priest. 33. Basden, 62. 34. Ibid. 35. Ibid. 36. Kristensen, 445.

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24 Emefie Ikenga-Metuh

37. Field, M. J., 'Tabu', in E. R. A. Seligman (ed.), Encyclopedia of the social sciences 13, New York: Macmillan 1937, 503.

38. Kristensen, 445. 39. Turner, H. W., 'The way forward in the study of African primal religions',

Journal of Religion in Africa 12 (1) 1981, 1. 40. Van der Leeuw, 343.

Article Contentsp. [3]p. 4p. 5p. 6p. 7p. 8p. 9p. 10p. 11p. 12p. 13p. 14p. 15p. 16p. 17p. 18p. 19p. 20p. 21p. 22p. 23p. 24

Issue Table of ContentsJournal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 15, Fasc. 1 (1985), pp. I-VI+1-84Volume Information [pp. I - VI]Front MatterCommunication from the Editor and Publisher ['News of Salvation' A New Religious Movement in Nigeria by Monday U. Ekpo]Editorial [pp. 1 - 2]Ritual Dirt and Purification Rites among the Igbo [pp. 3 - 24]The Igbe Cult in Isokoland and Missionary and Government Reactions, 1915-1930 [pp. 25 - 49]"News of Salvation": A New Religious Movement in Nigeria [pp. 50 - 66]The Harrist Church in the Ivory Coast: Review Article [pp. 67 - 75]Reviewsuntitled [pp. 76 - 77]untitled [pp. 78 - 79]untitled [pp. 80 - 82]untitled [pp. 82 - 84]

emefie ikenga-metuh - ritual dirt and purification rites among the igbo

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