Ikenga has been wrongly misunderstood. It is an essential part of Igbo cosmology. If you understand Igbo cosmology you will know that we are the progenitors of wealth. We brought the foundation of wealth into this world. Prosperity is something that is associated and co-exists with Igbo spirituality, life and culture. The problem of this money ritual started when people lost knowledge of how wealth can be acquired. The average Igbo person is not meant to be poor or excessively super rich but at least something in between but should prosper with his ‘akaraka’ (destiny).
That is where Ikenga comes in. That is why it is paramount for every Igbo woman to get married whether as second or third wife what is important is to enjoy the shelter of a man. Her prosperity and progress is only released fully when she is under a man. Most of their wealth is trapped under the sea and the only way they can attract and enjoy it is when she is under an Ikenga and it is only a man that handles an Ikenga.
The woman does not singularly harness her wealth but has to do it with a man. Ikenga is associated with wealth. It is the symbol of prosperity. This is why before a man starts his journey he is allowed to establish his communication with his ‘Chi’ the foundation of which is laid upon the Ikenga and his Agwu.
Spiritually, without Ikenga any wealth made by a man or woman is gotten illegally that is in Igbo context. So you must make yourself worthy by legalizing the process. Sometimes your wealth would appear like it wants to vanish if it was acquired before identifying with Ikenga. Any Igbo woman that makes wealth before settling down will hardly get a man that genuinely loves her because such a man would be coming because of what she has.
This is not right making wealth without covering and sometimes such marriages end in chaos. There is a spirit that owns you and what you have. The people who do money rituals end yup dying because money has its own force. It is an Ikenga that will allow you make wealth. You don’t need money ritual. Once you have an Ikenga it will direct you properly towards your destiny and it is in your destiny that your prosperity lies.
So no matter what happens you will discover that Ikenga plays a significant role in the lives of Igbo people. A lot of people are trying to invoke money and is the reason that they are running mad and some dying untimely. Those who have made money and lived long is because their secret is Ikenga which is the foundation of prosperity.
This is where many of us go wrong. The paper money is a means of exchange and not real wealth. True wealth goes beyond paper money. That is the reason you remain wealthy wherever you find yourself. When you have Ikenga you have laid the foundation for wealth. Any woman that is not married does only just exist not living because at the end of the day there is a limit to what your father’s name can do for you as a woman.
In Igbo cosmology for the few that understand it is the reason they seek to attach themselves to a man irrespective of whether she is second or third wife. Every woman that is alive for her to fulfill her purpose on earth needs a man and the man needs to link up with his Ikenga.
The deity called Amadioha
Amadioha is one of the prominent deities in Igbo land. It is regarded as Anyanwu na Agbara, (Sun and Spirit). We know that Ikuku (wind) is spirit while Anyanwu is the Sun. It is a combination of both. The world ‘Ama ndi Oha’ that is the wisdom of the people. It is a diety that brings justice and equity, fairness. This is the reason it is the highest Supreme Court in Igbo land. It settles cases after which none asks any question again.
It is a very prominent deity that is respected throughout Igbo land. Some people call it too Amadioha Ozuzu. When it comes, it does so with lightning and thunder. Anywhere it operates it means that something is not right there. It has come to right the wrongs. It does not show partiality. It has similar attributes with Ekwensu by going to war but it must be a just war.
Amadioha is not tricky but straight and transparent. This is the reason he that follows it must be open and transparent. It forbids so many things. It is a deity that you must approach with clean hands to receive justice. The highest shrine of Amadioha is in Etche, Rivers State but also in Igbo land but it can be found in every community, every kindred in Igbo land. There are men that are called into the clan of Amadioha.
Those who have direct reincarnation are associated with it but in the realm of the spirit it is seen as the husband of the Queen of the Coast. Water as we know it is feminine but there are some rivers that are masculine and we see them as Nna Chukwu (father God) and the feminine part as Nne Chukwu (mother God).
Amadioha can also give wealth because the abundance that exists in this physical world are all buried in the sea. The sea is filled with so much wealth. It also protects and many traditional medicine men have use it to settle land disputes, uproot charms. When someone is buried wrongly it can also uproot the dead body. It can react in so many ways and is the reason no one questions its judgment.
But the church has demonized Amadioha even when it cannot strike down an innocent person except you mistakenly stand on its way in which case you must be guilty. But the white man has scared us away from everything that should have helped us. If we are close to these things we would have been the ones developing what the whites are doing today. Every deity in Igbo land is as useful as life itself.
This is the reason the people of old lived a good and innocent life because they have to abstain from so many things to keep themselves pure and alive and evil is one thing they must abstain from. But today the church have told us to live on grace because all things are forgiven, reason people are doing unspeakable things, despicable and abominable things here and there as if there is no tomorrow.
In our land today brothers are sleeping with sisters, married women sleeping at random and men sleeping with other people’s wives, people robbing others of their wealth, killing of one another. These are the things that the people of old avoided. These are the reasons the deities played important roles to checkmate evil.
The anyanwu na agbara name in some places are not so popular anyway.
