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What
is Egbesu?
Izon Cultural Studies
By IHD Copyright Ó 1998
What is Egbesu?
It is commonly stated that Egbesu is the god or deity of
warfare. While this statement is correct, it is at the same time misleading as
it does not address all the functions of the metaphysical intelligence, and how
it relates in the divine scheme of things.
In order to answer the question who and what is Egbesu?, we
must have a technical understanding of the cosmology of the Supreme Being
(God!), and how It governs the universe. We can use a number of references texts
to aid our task, such as the Christian Bible, or even older sacred books such as
the Ancient Egyptian Book known as "The Book of Knowing the Forms of the
Creator".
In the Christian Bible, in the book of Genesis 2.26 the Supreme
Being is made to say "Let us make man in our image". This gives us the
impression that the Supreme Being is talking to other lesser beings. Indeed this
is the case. In Psalm 82 we have the following statement;
"God has taken his place in the
divine council; in the mist of the gods he holds judgement:"
In the Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, these other or
lesser beings or smaller gods! are called "angels", meaning "messengers of God".
In the Ancient African spiritual tradition, from which the above mentioned
religions learnt most of their spiritual doctrines, these lesser beings or gods
are known as metaphysical or spiritual or divine intelligence’s. They are the
attributes or forms of God, also known as the forces of nature that govern the
visible and invisible universe. They are not apart from God, but are the forms
of the God that It uses in administrating the universe. This is made clear in
the book of Revelations (Christian Bible) and from ancient African texts such as
the "Book of Knowing the Forms of the Creator", which for the record is the
oldest Book concerning the nature of the Supreme Being, preceding the Bible by
Thousand of years. Parts of it which state;
"…The Book of knowing the forms of the
Creator, and of overthrowing evil . The words of the Lord of
the universe which He spoke after he had come into being. I am he who came into
being in the form of the Creator, coming into being in the beginning. I came
into being in the forms of the Creator. I am the creator of what came into
being, that is to say, I produced myself…… I was alone not born were they….
And I even I came into being in the form of the things which came into being,
and I came into being in the forms of the Creator. I came into being from
the formless matter, coming into being in a multitude of forms from the
beginning. Not existed created things in the universe. I made whatever was
made, everything. I was alone, not existed any other who worked with me…..
This is a paraphrased extract for the easy understanding of the
reader. What it tells us is that the Supreme Being comes into being as the
Creator of the universe, while at the same time, It comes into being in the
forms of the Creator, and as the created things. Breaking it down we have God
manifesting Itself as the Almighty Creator, as the forms of the Almighty Creator
or metaphysical intelligence’s, and as the creatures (ie to say, the spirit of
God at the centre of all things dwelling as our essential nature.
We have now established that the Supreme Being manifests Itself
in a multitude of forms, the forms of God or the metaphysical intelligence’s
being the forms of God that Itself uses to govern the universe. It manifests at
the centre of man’s being as the divine self or spirit of God dwelling within.
On the other hand God as the "Unmanifested One" in Its essential nature is
formless and non-visible. Thus ultimately God has no image and is therefore
invisible. It cannot be perceived but can perceive all things.
The Spiritual culture of the Ijo can be traced back to the
ancient city of Annu or Onnu (Heliopolis to the ancient Greeks , the On of the
Bible, the city where Moses the Hebrew lawgiver was educated). This city was a
major theological centre of ancient Egypt and ancient Africa, even the whole
ancient world. It was also one of the main intellectual centres that was the
foundation of ancient African spiritual culture. At Annu was centralised the
cultivation of the Creative attributes or aspects of the Supreme Being in the
form of Tem the Almighty Creator, his female counterpart Temeta, the Supreme
Intelligence Atum, and his energy/power aspects known as Ra. Now these terms are
direct translations of the ancient Egyptian language, by present day
Egyptologists. In modern Ijo, these terms have survived in the form of Temeowei
or Temuno (Tem), Tamara (Temeta), Adumu (Atum) and Urau (Ra), the Egyptology
ancient Egyptian rendition in brackets . This is born out by the following
extracts;
".....ZIBARA TEME
BI MO:
The creator deity
in Ijo religion is feminine. Thus most of the words which refer to the Supreme
Being are feminine. TAMARA is the woman who created us; WOYIN means 'our
mother'. WODAU is a Christian version of our father. ZIBARA is the deity that
gives life. It is from her that the Ijo ask for blessings in life. It is on your
knees that you plead to Zibara..... Foot note; Zibara - Goddess of prophecy,
divination, often called upon along with the Creative Deity Tamara. Teme -
Life-Breath, soul the double. Oru - god, goddess, a major deity, as distinct
from Tamara or Woyin, Woyingi, Tamuno, Oyibau,
Temeowi...."
"....The supreme
creator God is the basic part of all Ijo religion. In the eastern delta, God is
Ayiba (begetter as well as killer) or Tamuno (creator). In the poetry of the
drum, God is Oloma Ogina, or Oloman Ogina. In the central and western delta, God
is Woyin (our mother) Ayibarau (she who begets and kills), Oginarau, and Tamarau
(creator). God is a female idea among the matrilineal
Ijo..."
"...The religion of
the Ijo, who are perhaps the most ancient people in West Africa, is still
distinct from that of all surrounding tribes. The supreme deity, partly
identified with the sky, is a Goddess called Tamuno by the Kalabari, Ayiba by
the Brass people and Tamara by the western section of the tribe - who is deemed
to have created everything, man, animals, trees, etc. The symbol to which
sacrifices are made, especially by children is a clay pot, containing black
earth, and which is most rare. Second only to Tamuno comes the earth god,
Amakiri.... It is interesting to find that in this most ancient of the tribes,
the earth deity is male and that of the sky is female like the early Egyptian
Geb or Seb and Nut whose offspring’s, according to Heliopolitan doctrine
were Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephtys and Horus Anubis. It should be remarked also
that it is this tribe where the mother Goddess is still supreme that the
clearest traces are to be found of the dual organisation, of religious and civil
or war chiefs..."
Because of the ancient roots of Ijo spiritual culture, it is
not surprising that Ijo culture expresses knowledge of certain fundamental
spiritual concepts, such as the Tree of Life spiritual initiation system, as
practised by the cosmological/theological school of Annu, reincarnation and the
survival of the soul after physical death, ancestor communication ritual with
the deification of ancestors. Most of all is the conceptualisation of the
Supreme Being as the Almighty Creator, who manifests Itself in the form of the
Supreme Creator of the Universe (God), in the forms of the Supreme Creator
(metaphysical intelligence’s or deities, so called angels or gods) and as the
creatures that make up the universe (as the inner intelligence dwelling in all
things including human beings).
Oru in modern Ijo is the survival of the ancient Egyptian term
Horu or Heru (Horus), which means deity or god. It also corresponds to the
co-ordinating functions of the Will of God as manifested in the universe, and at
the same time the co-ordinating function of the will of man, as manifested in
our mental (mind) expression. Teme means to make, or create, or the creative
essence, and again is the same as the ancient Egyptian Tem which means Creator.
Thus Oru-Teme or Teme-Oru, refers to the Supreme Creator manifesting in Its
various forms, which we understand to be the metaphysical intelligence’s or
spiritual entities which are termed deities or gods and goddesses (Oru).
The term Oru has caused much controversy within Ijo traditional
thought, because Christian missionaries translated the term to mean devil. The
term does not mean devil, for the concept of the devil as an evil spirit ebing
is non existent in Ijo theology. Oru or Eru derived from the ancient term Horu
(Horus) or Heru. The fact that Oru does not mean devil is borne out in the story
of the fight between Horu and Set. In this ancient Egyptian story. Horu is the
principle of good, while Set (the Christian Satan) is the principle of evil.
Horus or Oru also corresponds to the angel Michael in the Hebrew tradition.
The term Oru also means deity or god/goddess and corresponds to
the Christian concept of angel. Indeed it is the same, because an Oru is a
servant or messenger of God.
Ijo traditional spiritual culture places much emphasis on the
mental focusing on the Orus or servants of God. The Orus exist to help human
beings in their day to day running of their affairs. Since it is the Orus
(metaphysical intelligence’s or forces of nature) that govern the natural world,
and the governing of the natural world has not been known to fail, we can see
how cultivating an Oru would benefit the individual and society. This is because
Ijo culture has the correct understanding that, in order to manifest an aspect
of the Supreme Being (God) one must become at one with the attribute that one is
focusing on. The mental focusing on a divine attribute is called worship. It is
through worship that one is able to awaken the divine attribute within oneself.
This is what worshipping God is all about.
The Tree of Life Cosmological Schema: To understand Ijo
spiritual culture one must be familiar with the Tree of Life cosmological scheme
authored by the priests and priestess of the great Nile Valley civilisations of
ancient Egypt and ancient Sudan, which is a diagramatical summary of the various
attributes of the Supreme Being in numerical form. Here we will give you eleven
attributes of the Supreme Being in their gender, and with their Ijo names and
the meaning in English. Together they summarise the totality of God and are the
underlying metaphysical intelligence’s that govern the physical universe. They
are as follows;
* Woyingi-Tamara and Temeowei (The Supreme Mother Goddess and
Father God as the Supreme Being’s Creative dualities that are the source of all
things). feminine and masculine
* Adumu or Esseru or Asain (The Supreme Being manifesting as
the Supreme Intelligence or the Divine Self i.e. God’s spirit dwelling within
each of our being). masculine
* Tau or Tautu (The Supreme Being manifesting as the universal
knowledge or omniscience-wisdom metaphysical intelligence). masculine
* Sokari or Benikurukuru (The Supreme Being manifesting as the
universal spiritual power or omnipotence metaphysical intelligence).
feminine
* Ayibara or Ayiba or Oginara (The Supreme Being manifesting as
the metaphysical intelligence that is the embodiment of the divine law and order
of the cosmos). feminine
* Egbesu or Ako-oru or Agdagba-oru (The Supreme Being
manifesting as the metaphysical intelligence that enforces the divine laws and
secures the divine natural order of things). masculine
* Oru or Kalasuo or Kalaoru (The Supreme Being manifesting as
the metaphysical intelligence that co-ordinates the universe).
masculine
* Oruamina (The Supreme Being manifesting as the metaphysical
intelligence that gathers the metaphysical or spiritual energy to give rise to
all things). feminine
* Ari or Seki (The Supreme Being manifesting as the
metaphysical intelligence that differentiates all things into various
categories). masculine
* Zibara or Beniara (The Supreme Being manifesting as the
metaphysical intelligence that moulds a metaphysical or spiritual image or form
of all things-the so called spiritual double or metaphysical personality).
feminine
* Ogbo or Kiri-Ogbo or Amakiri. (The Supreme Being manifesting
as the metaphysical intelligence that generates and presides over the physical
realm, earthly laws and living). masculine
These various attributes of the Supreme Being correspond to
the so called different names of God in other religions (e.g Benikurukuru
corresponds to the Shekina power of the Hebrew tradition), and to the much
misunderstood term angel of Christianity and Islam. In the Tree of Life system,
level 0 is God, formless and invisible, of which everyone talks about while 1-10
are the so called angels or gods/goddesses, the forms of God that It uses to
govern the universe.
When God creates the universe, It first lays down the laws that
the universe is to be based on and governed by. These laws translate as the
hidden patterns of nature and the laws of interdependence and interrelationship
between all things, seen and unseen. In short the so called laws of nature.
After making these laws, God manifests an attribute of Itself that will enforce
the laws.
Laws are useless if there are no means of enforcing them. This
aspect or principle of God is termed "divine enforcer" divine executor". And
since it is used to restore law and order when there is an infringement, it is
also termed the god of war, meaning that it is the manifestation of God fighting
against the forces that threaten the divine order. In the Christian tradition,
it is the angel that holds the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain used
to lock up the dragon Satan the devil, principle of evil (Revelations 20.). In
the Ijaw spiritual tradition it is known as Egbesu (bearing in mind that Angels
or Oru are non other than the various manifestations of the Supreme Being which
It uses to govern the universe).
Egbesu is also known by other names in Ijaw language, such as
Agadagba-oru, Ako-oru, Dirimo-oru or Dirimo-asain, to name a few. Egbesu is the
offensive and defensive power of God used to protect righteous people from the
forces of evil. This was understood by the Ijaws and also neighbouring tribes
such as the Edo. In his Book ‘Benin (1971) subsection ‘Some Tribal Gods of
Southern Nigeria (1951) page 22, J U Egharevba comments on the Gods of the
Ijaws:
" Tamaran or Aiyiba by Brass people and
Tamuno by the Kalabaris: Deity, God, the Supreme Being; the Creator. Egbesu: The
God of defence or protection next to Tamaran both in power and in importance.
But very antogonistic against the evil doers. It is also the God of war;
"
Egbesu is the spiritual foundation for combating evil. It is
the main spiritual tool (weapon) for overcoming evil. It is used to enforce the
divine order in the natural realm, so that all things coming into being can take
place in their own space and time without infringing upon other things. It is
used to make sure that all things are functioning as a unified whole, despite
their outward differences. Of the utmost importance to human beings is its
influence in the social order, whether we know it or not. Like it or not, the
social order constructed by human beings must follow the blueprint of the
universe as laid out by the Almighty Creator. When it is not so then social
disorder is the result.
Two major principles must be adhered to when constructing a
society. The first is that all things, be they human beings, interest groups or
animals, must not infringe on each others time and space, following the
principle that no two things can occupy the same time and space at the same
time. The second is that all things, be they human beings, interest groups,
enterprises, animals and plants, are part of a unified system function as a
whole. This is evident in ecosystems, but is applicable to human society as
well. As such anything that threatens the smooth functioning of the whole
system, through infringement of other’s time and space, must be restored to its
proper role, through force if it is not a free agent, and by a combination of
force and gentle persuasion if it is a free agent.
The only free agents in the universe outside of God are human
beings. Not even the so called angels are free. Thus in the divine order, things
are forced back into equilibrium if they threaten to go astray. That is why
nature has not been known to fail. In the social order constructed by human
beings, it is another matter. It is here that Egbesu plays a leading role in
making sure that society is governed by moral principles instead of greed.
A look at the function of angels will give us an understanding
of why the Ijaw invoke Egbesu anytime their society and environment is at risk
of annihilation. We are told by specialists on the subject of religion that;
"..Muhammadan theologians
declare that the angels are created of a simple substance of light, and that
they are endowed with life, and speech, and reason; they are incapable of sin,
they have no carnal desire, they do not propagate their species, and they are
not moved by the passions of wrath and anger; their obedience is absolute. Their
meat is the celebrating of the glory of God, their drink is the proclaiming of
His holiness, their conversation is the commemorating of God, and their pleasure
is His worship. Curiously enough, some are said to have the form of animals.
Four of the angels are Archangels viz. Michael, Gabriel, Azrael and Israel, and
they possess special powers, and special duties are assigned to them. These four
are superior to all the human race, with the exception of the Prophets and
Apostles, but the angelic nature is held to be inferior to human nature because
all the angels were commanded to worship Adam……The Archangels in this system are
described as a "swift operative motion," which has dominion over every living
thing except man; and the Angels are a motion which has spiritual knowledge of
everything that is on earth and in heaven……."
A number of important points come out of the extract. Angels
are absolutely obedient to the will of God, therefore they are not free agents.
If they are not free agents then there cannot be any fallen angels. Lucifer or
Satan a so called fallen angel is in reality a personification of the corrupted
mind of man used in the infringement of the divine social order. The fight
between good and evil, is not a fight between God on one side, and a fallen
angel on the other side, but a fight within the mind of man, and the social
order constructed by human beings, between what principles should govern society
and human behaviour, either they are divine moral principles, or principles
based on human desires, which ultimately leads to greed. This is the evil.
Another important point is that angels take on the form of
animals or human (metaphysically speaking. Read Revelations) when perceived in a
vision. Africans have been in the past, accused of animal worship. Again this is
false, for they are not worshipping animals, but using the animal like forms
communicated to them by the angels (messengers of God) to invoke the forces of
nature, so that the divine social order is established in the affairs of man.
Revelations 4 confirms that the metaphysical or spiritual intelligence’s
otherwise called angels (the messengers of God that communicate the divine
impulses of God to the minds of humans) take on the form of animals or humans
when appearing in a vision.
We are now in a position to elaborate on Egbesu. Repeating what
we said earlier;
Egbesu operates on the principle of synergy. All factors that
will establish righteousness must come into play before the force of Egbesu
produces an effect. Egbesu cannot be utilised by the ordinary man as he or she
lacks spiritual discipline. The Divine Enforcer or Corrective Force of the
Supreme Being known as the deity or god of warfare (to the layman) can only be
utilised by the righteous or upright beings (through wise guidance wage a war
that is just). It cannot be called upon by evil doers or be used for dubious
purposes. The Divine Enforcer, as the god, deity or angel of warfare is not
called upon to start a war, but to end injustice, conflict and confusion. He
comes not to start a war, but to end it. That is why it is only in exceptional
circumstances that it is called upon. One of these exceptional circumstances is
when an individual or community is under attack from other communities with evil
or diabolical intentions (evil forces), and they themselves are innocent and
blameless.
In Ijo the Divine Enforcer is known by several names such as
Egbesu, Dirimo-asain, Agadagba-oru, Ako-oru. The Egbesu is the defensive and
offensive power of the Supreme Being used to uphold the divine laws of nature,
and to protect the upright or righteous from evil. If you are a person who
consistently infringes divine law (i.e. the laws of natural justice), or commits
wrong, then you cannot call upon Agadagba or Egbesu to help you in times of
strife or conflict. That is why the priests of Agadagba require all persons who
seek the protection of the Divine Enforcer to confess their sins. After a
sincere confession, and a further commitment to uphold righteousness and truth
in times of strife and conflict, you will be protected within the circumstances
you find yourself, i.e. to say an individual or community will be protected by
Egbesu as long as they themselves do not infringe the laws that are enforced by
Egbesu.
The symbol of divine force is the leopard. Therefore the
leopard is sacred to the Agadagba or Egbesu priesthood. (In the Christian
tradition Egbesu is the angel of God who chains the Dragon Satan, the principle
of evil and confines him to the bottomless pit for a thousand years- Book of
Revelations Chapter 20, verse 1)
Egbesu is the aspect of God that manifests as a metaphysical or
spiritual intelligence that is responsible for the maintenance of the divine
order. Any infringement of the divine order is met with a force that restores
the equilibrium between all things. Since human beings live in a world that is a
part of the divine social order, any human being that infringes on the laws of
nature will automatically feel the effects of that infringement. Put in a
graphic way, if you infringe the laws of fire or heat, you will get burnt, if
you infringe the laws of health, you will fall sick.
Egbesu is the offensive and defensive power of God used to
protect the righteous or upright people from the forces of evil. Egbesu is the
corrective force of God used to restore order when there has been an
infringement within a unified natural system such as an ecosystem, which as we
said earlier is ultimately a part of the divine order created by God. Egbesu is
the divine enforcer and executioner. You reap what your sow as the saying goes.
Egbesu is the divine security agent of God, securing the social order of
societies that abide by the laws of nature, securing the minds of individuals
who uphold divine law, from negative psychic influences or attacks released by
other minds.
All things, all individuals, function in the divine scheme of
things that is known as the universe. If an individual is a constant
transgressor or deliberately infringes the divine order as represented by the
laws of nature, then you cannot expect to be protected by divine law. Therefore
you can only receive protection from Egbesu if you yourself are not a
transgressor or constant infringer of divine law. If you are not a transgressor
you have the right to defend yourself and your society against infringement by
persons who seek to do so. You also have a right to implement justice on behalf
of the whole society that is being destabilised, and the corrective forces of
God will assist you in doing so. This is Egbesu.
Individuals who are in full compliance with the divine order,
such as an Egbesu priest, have the ability to invoke the corrective forces
(Egbesu) of God, if the social and environmental order within the human habitat
is destabilised. This invoking of Egbesu will take on the form of waging
aggressive warfare against the forces that are causing the destabilisation and
disharmony, with the aim of re-establishing order and harmony, while at the same
time being protected from harm. That is why Egbesu is termed the god of warfare.
It is not invoked to cause war, but to end injustice wherever it may be.
Seeking Assistance from Egbesu: Seeking the
assistance of the corrective forces of God to correct an injustice or
infringement of our fundamental rights to make a living means living in harmony
with the laws governing the universe. You cannot do it any other way. Thus an
Egbesu priest, and the men who will carry out the defensive work will undergo a
training programme that will harmonise their being with the offensive and
defensive power of God. After the training programme, and in accordance to the
sincerity of the individuals undergoing it, Egbesu will protect them and help
them carry out their task of restoring law and order in the land, or righting a
wrong. In an emergency situation an Egbesu priest can invoke the corrective
forces of God to help a community in a conflict situation where they are clearly
innocent, and are being victimised. All men or soldiers engaged in physical
combat must as a matter of priority confess their sins, while at the same time
make a sincere commitment to fight according to divine law. This means that
innocent people are not victimised in a warfare situation, even if your own
people are.
In calling upon the benevolent forces of God in times of
conflict, where it is clear that you are not at fault or guilty of infringing
the divine order, you must not give in to fear. Any time you give in to fear,
you deny God dwelling within. God dwelling within is non other than the inner
intelligence guiding all things. So if you deny It then it will not come to your
aid in times of crises. Easier said than done. This is where the training or
initiation program becomes essential. The individuals undergoing the training
exercises will go through the following stages;
Confess all wrong doing, and make a sincere commitment to live
by divine law (the laws of nature). This means that certain things can only be
done or engaged in at certain times according to the cycles of nature.
Undergo a training program of overcoming the fear of death.
Learn the signs and symbols that correspond to Egbesu, and
using these signs and symbols as energy conduits to channel the energy of Egbesu
through the initiate in any warfare or conflict situation.
A brief summary of the signs and symbols of Egbesu are as
follows;
The symbol of the leopard, representing the natural
aggressiveness needed to overcome your enemies. The leopards teeth are used for
ceremonial purposes.
The symbol of Black (hence the term Dirimo-oru) representing
the essential nature of God, formless and invisible, and the death like state
that consciousness must experience in order to come face to face with the
essential nature of God. Black is also the symbol of the omnipotent or spiritual
power of God. All things, all colours come out of and return to the infinite and
eternal Blackness that is at the beginning of time (Read Genesis).
The symbol of White, representing the clear and clean
conscience or mind that must be in harmony with the divine laws and order so
that one can receive protection against the forces of evil. If there is a blood
stain, representing wrong doing, it will be seen on the white garment. All
priests wear white garments.
The symbol of Red representing the fiery fire energy that must
be generated in order to be successful in combat, and generate a protective
energy shield while in action. It also represents danger. That is to say Egbesu
is a danger to evil doers, so beware. It also represents blood. Like it or not
blood will be shed. Just make sure that it is not innocent blood, if not you
will be liable.
These symbols are used by an Egbesu priest to generate a
combatant type personality, in even someone who was previously a coward. They
are now prepared for warfare against the forces that seek to infringe or violate
the divine social order.
We are now in a position to understand why Egbesu has been
invoked by concerned Ijaw people in the protection of the Niger Delta
environment our home, against those who seek to destroy it through ecological
and environmental degradation caused by oil exploration, and against those
neighbouring people and the corrupt elite who are ruling Nigeria, who want to
infringe and violate the God given rights of Ijaw people to a fair share of the
resources that are being generated by our homeland.
For Egbesu to be 100 percent effective in protecting the
collective interests of the Ijaw people there is a demand placed on us to become
unified in purpose and root out corruption within our mist. Without these
conditions. Egbesu will aid us according to our due. The law of "you reap
what you sow" must take its course.
LIVE BY THE LAW OF GOD WHICH STATE THAT THERE IS NOTHING IN
THIS WORLD, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE THAT WILL MAKE YOU VIOLATE THE LAWS OF
JUSTICE AND EQUALITY - THE SPIRITUAL POWER THAT YOU WILL ACQUIRE FROM LIVING
THIS TRUTH IS GOD’S AUTOMATIC PROTECTION FROM THE HARM AND INJUSTICES OF OTHERS
- THIS IS EGBESU.
Benaebi
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