International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue I, January 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

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

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

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.

Key Words: Ancestors; Canonization; Cult; Veneration.

The homestead was a symbol of the world, a central arena in which the symbolic relations of persona and place were negotiated. The home was the nexus of symbolic and social relations among the living and between the living and deceased relatives of the household who continued to live as ancestor spirits.
-David Chidester

I. INTRODUCTION

The Problem of Semantics among the Igbo People

Considering the various ritual uses, erecting of Obu or Obi has become an architectural edifice Ndigbo has turned to irrespective of the fact people that those engage in this act are basically Christians. Nonetheless, it is a place meant for traditional worshippers to meet and mediate with their ancestors. Thus, Okafor writes that Obu “come in various sizes and under different folk terminologies. Sometimes the folk terminology is determined by size, at others by usage” (1998: 183). The Obu or Obi has a conical shape and is open in the middle. The Obu appears in a great variety of sizes. The Obu is evidently widely seen in parts of Igbo land, but is most prominent in Anambra State. The Obu style of house in which it postulates or figures are basically seen around Aguleri axis,