Odinani - Origin

Origin

The term ‘ọdịnala’ also pronounced ‘ọdịnani’ (depending on dialect) is derived from three Igbo words ‘ọdị’ –meaning ‘it is’; ‘na’ – meaning ‘on/within’ and ‘ala’ – meaning ‘the Land or the Earth’. In this literary sense, Ọdịnala comes to mean ‘it is on the Land’ or ‘something that is anchored on the Earth or Land’.

In Igbo nation where this word originated, it is also called omenala, omenana, or omenani by some tribes. M.O Ene (2000) presented Igbo culture as: "a dynamic phenomenon that deals with the artifacts and mores by which Ndiigbo of Africa distinguish themselves from other racial/ethnic groups." To him, it is a serious mistake to distinguish between Igbo religion and culture but he later went further to agree that Igbo religion (Ọdịnala) led to Igbo culture (omenala) by stating that: “..if, the Igbo have no religion, then they have no culture….. Religion is our culture, our way of life”. Thus, no matter what it may be called, the truth is that 80% of the Igbo people use the word ọdịnala to describe the Igbo traditional religion and have differentiated it from omenala; which is culture.

There are various definitions of the term ‘Ọdịnala’ from different Igbo scholars, writers, philosophers and teachers of culture and tradition. The conclusion could be drawn from Dr. Uju Afulezi (2000) and Ene M.O (2003) that “Ọdịnala is the ancient Igbo traditional religion”. This definition has some limitations and is subjected to criticism especially, if we can remember that Ọdịnala is anchored on the land (ala). Provided that ala exists, it is the same all over the world. The basic belief and the teachings of this religion (Ọdịnala) hold in any part of the Earth (Ala); hence the Igbo sentence ‘ala wu otu’ which translates ‘the land is the same everywhere’. Thus, Ọdịnala in this view is for every world but originated from Igboland.

Ọdịnala is therefore, the ancient religion of the people that connect mmadu (human being) to Chukwu (God) through Chi (personal spiritual guardian or providence). It is an ancient sacred science that enables people to exist in peace, love and harmony with Chukwu (God), Chi (personal providence) and Arushi (the supernatural forces) on their way back to eternal.

Like all religions, Ọdịnala is the vehicle used by its practitioners (Dibias or priests) and spiritual students (followers of the religion) to understand their World (called "Uwa"), or more specifically, the part of the World that affects them — which is to say the dry land on which the people live and gather sustenance. I call it ‘a gifted spiritual route’.