ILO UWA/INO UWA – Igbo Afterlife

BY JOY CHINECHEREM

The reality of the afterlife has always been an issue shrouded in mystery from the beginning of time, the Igbo people of South-east Nigeria are known for their many life-centered beliefs, they are people of spirituality which is not excluded in their belief of life and death. They say a cat has nine lives, Igbos say Humans have seven lives. 

Life, according to the Igbo culture, is a series of coming and going till the person exhausts his/her life cycle they call it ILO-UWA which literally means Return to the world, in English REINCARNATION. They believe in the world beyond which they call ALA-MMUO, which is where they believe the soul and spirit of every human returns to after the death of the flesh.  

From the birth of a child to death, every life process is revered and considered sacred, as a rite of passage to and fro the other world, just as depicted in prolific writer Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart:

Ezeudu! He called in his guttural voice. If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again. But you were rich. If you had been a coward, I would have asked you to bring courage. But you were a fearless warrior. If you had died young, I would have asked you to get life. But you lived long. So I shall ask you to come again the way you came before (Achebe; 1958:98)

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Ilo uwa is an Igbo belief in reincarnation, Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious belief that the non-physical essence of a living being starts a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. It is also called rebirth or transmigration.

However, the Igbo reincarnation is believed to occur within the immediate or extended family and always in the human physical form. In the Igbo cycle of life, each human has a total of seven lives before final resting in the ancestral home, hence, the Igbo phrase Uwam uwa Asaa. The cycle number of a person is unknown to them whilst alive.

The Igbo beliefs in Ilo-uwa vary from person to person, some believe that a person reincarnates in the exact body features and all, while some believe that the body lies in grave and rot while soul and spirit reincarnate. It is usually said that sometimes before an individual’s death, he notifies the family who he/she will be coming back as. Sometimes, a body mark or scare gives the clue or behaviors exhibited by the child which further strengthens their belief.

Every event from the birth of a child is symbolic in the rites of passage in the cyclic life, from the welcoming ceremony where a Dibia Afa is consulted to know who reincarnated which will determine the name given to the child as the wrong name can result in the death of that child.

The occurrence of a child prodigy is called, “Ebibi-ụwa”, in Igbo language, meaning Nature’s imprint. Those born with their pre-incarnation intellectual and physical abilities are seen as yet another proof for the Igbos belief in reincarnation. 

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It is sometimes said that a soul or person can reincarnate in several individuals, maybe to accomplish a goal. According to a traditional herbalist, she is a reincarnate of her great-grandmother, a great herbalist who died in her primetime. The great-grandmother had two other living reincarnates from the extended family, none of them heeded her call to tow her path in practicing traditional medicine except for Ebele. This goes to affirm the saying about existing in multiple bodies for them. They all have a mortal bond binding them and if one should die, it could affect all of them especially if they see the body.

Even with the influence of Christianity in Igbo cultures today, the belief in Ilo-uwa is still strong with efforts to integrate it into their present lives. It can be seen in the names given to their children, these are a true indication of the Igbos belief in reincarnation. Nna-nna (the father of his father); Nne-nna (the mother of his father); Nne-ji (my brother or sister); Nna-ji (my half brother/half-sister); and Nwa-nne Daa (the brother or sister of my mother). None of these names is repeated in the family because they specify the ancestors. Relations in this life pay the child the same high respect they were accustomed to paying to the deceased grandparent or relation of their father. Some people in Igboland are bearing their pre-incarnation names and enjoying the high level of respect due to a grandfather /mother.