CHI

Spirit

Chi is, in the Igbo religion and cosmology, odinani, of south-eastern Nigeria, the personal spirit attached to each individual. Assigned before or at the moment of birth, it accompanies the person all their life and personifies their destiny. It is likened to the guardian angel of Christianity, the Greek daimon or the genius of other traditions. The chi is held responsible for successes as for failures: an Igbo proverb affirms that a man cannot rise above his chi. But Igbo thought tempers this destiny with free will, as the adage says — if a man agrees, his chi agrees — personal effort being able to bend destiny. The chi is understood as an emanation of Chukwu, the supreme being, whose very name combines chi and ukwu, the great chi. Each person could dedicate a small personal shrine to it, the onuchi, where sacrifices and prayers were offered, often sealed with the kola nut. The notion of chi also attaches to the ikenga, a ritual object that embodies personal force, the right hand and achievement. The chi remains a pillar of Igbo spirituality and of its reflection on identity and destiny.