African spirituality Archives ~ Ozi Ikòrò

04

A traditional Itsekiri marriage ceremony showing a couple dressed in cultural attire representative of the customary wedding context in which Omi-Eghare (dowry payment) takes place. Photo credit: Stanleyatigbin via Wikimedia…

15

Dec 2025

The Mischaracterization of Ekwensu in Igbo Cosmology

Ekwensu: The Igbo God of war. Photo credit; Talkafricana.com. Among the various deities in Igbo cosmology, none has been as widely misinterpreted as Ekwensu. In many modern contexts especially through Christian…

21

Nov 2025

Cultural Heritage Ethnohistory Folklores

Onishe: The Mother Spirit of the Asaba People by the Niger River

Photo credit; Shutterstock Among the many indigenous deities of Southern Nigeria, few are as central to the identity of a people as Onishe, the revered mother spirit of the Asaba (Ahaba)…

31

Oct 2025

Biography

Chioma Ebinama: Weaving Igbo Myth and Modern Freedom in A Spiral Shell

Chioma Ebinama captured in natural light, reflecting the harmony between creativity and nature. Image Credits: SOUTZOGLOU CARPETS In a quiet gallery in New York, soft watercolour hues meet the gaze like…

20

Oct 2025

Cultural Heritage

Between Faith and Heritage: The Catholic Priest Protecting Igbo Traditional Artifacts

Father Paul Obayi. Image: thestreetjournal.org The Igbo say, “Ọnụ anaghị atụ egwu, ọ na-agwa mmadụ eziokwu”( the mouth that tells the truth does not tremble). And in Nsukka, one man dares…

09

Oct 2025

Anthropology and Ethnography Historical Studies ⁠Religion and Spirituality

Guardians of the Wild: Totemism and the Hidden Ecology of Igboland

Ụwa bụ ndụ; ndụ bụ ụwa (The world is life, and life is the world). The Forest as a Living Ancestry In the time before tarred roads and concrete skylines, Igboland…

08

Oct 2025

Cultural Heritage Historical Studies Indigenous Architecture Photos Proverbs & Idioms ⁠Religion and Spirituality

The Sacred Bond: Totemism and Igbo Respect for Nature

Mmụọ na mmadụ na-ebi ọnụ n’ụwa a—Spirits and humans coexist in this world. This proverb reminds the Igbo that the visible and invisible share one space and nature is not…

08

Oct 2025

Anthropology and Ethnography Cultural Heritage Historical Studies ⁠Religion and Spirituality

When the Sacred Fades: The Decline of Igbo Totemism and Its Lessons for the Future

Ihe atụfuru n’aka nne ochie, a na-ahụ uru ya mgbe e mesịrị (The treasure lost in the grandmother’s hand is valued only after it is gone). This proverb whispers the…

28

Jul 2025

Cultural Heritage

Ogwugwu: The Great Igbo Spiritual Mother

Uli painting on the walls of the Ogwugwu shrine, Nibo, present-day Anambra State, Nigeria. Photographed by one of Northcote Thomas’s assistants in 1911. Photo: Re-Entanglements. Ogwugwu is a special ancestral spirit…

24

May 2025

Cultural Heritage

Udo Deity: The Igbo Spirit of Peace and Harmony

Community shrine to the deities Udo and Ogwugwu (with the shrine's priest), Oba Uke, 1983. Photo by Herbert M. Cole. In the rich spiritual world of the Igbo people in southeast…