OBU: The Sacred Homestead for Ancestor Veneration in Igbo Traditional Religion

PhD Madukasi Francis Chuks
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PhD Madukasi Francis Chuks: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University,Department of Religion & Society. Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 2021, vol. 05, issue 1, 467-477

Abstract: The veneration of the Ancestor worship among the adherents of African Traditional religion has in Igbo land has been seen as a thing that is very sacrosanct in commemoration of both cults in the religious paradigm. The ancestors in the belief system of the Igbo serves as mediators to them through God, while in the religious worldview among the adherents of the African Traditional Religion, the ancestors acts as intermediaries in the extraterrestrial or spiritual landscape. The general believe among the Igbo about the sacred temple of Obu is that it is an ancient ritual centre for keeping and binding the brotherhood of Igbo communities together because Eri is believed to be their great ancestor that instituted it in Igbo cosmology. In this wise, through the mediation of its symbolism and cultural ethos, the ancient spiritual centre is so revered that it portrays Ndi-Igbo as the spiritual epicenter for the ritual convocation and reunification of other Igbo communities that make up the Igbo race through her ritualistic endeavour’s. This paper focuses on the features or characteristics of Obu as the homestead for the ancestors in Igbo cosmology where religious scholarship is concerned. Through ethnographic method, this article will investigate how the Obu is being observed as a place for spiritual re-dedication and the evocation of the proud ancestry of Eri descendants and Ndi-Igbo in general.

Date: 2021
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