Chi is the personal spiritual guardian of a person. Chi as a personal providence is a divine agent assigned to each human from cradle to the coffin. Chukwu will assign one’s Chi before and at the time of birth, which remains with the person for the rest of his/her lives on Earth (Uwa). Chi simply means an Arushi (supernatural being) that is assigned to a human being for care, guardianship, and providence, which remains with that person until the end of his/her life on Earth. Unlike Chukwu which is genderless, Chi can be either feminine or masculine. It is the ocean Chukwu’s divine love that takes form on the lower world. It is the spark of Chukwu and the right of any mmadu in the main stream.
Chi determines a person’s successes, misfortunes, and failures throughout his/her lifetime. It serves as an intermediary between mmadu and Chukwu. The Igbo believe that their success in life is determined by their Chi, and that no human can rise past the greatness of his or her own Chi. In this respect, a person’s Chi is analogous to the concept of a guardian angel in Western Christianity, the daimon in ancient Greek religion, and the genius in ancient Roman religion.
To survive spiritually, one must establish a special relationship between oneself and one's godly guardian. This places the human person at the forefront of interlinked activities that involve other cosmic forces. But not so fast: He who walks before his godly guardian runs the race of his life “Onye buru chi ya uzo, ogbagbue onwe ya n'oso.”
The Igbo know that the Almighty Chukwu (God) cannot be manipulated in any way. Our lot is etched on the palm of our hands as destiny. One can’t decode it, but one can derail it. Chi, the personal godly guardian, can be coerced to help here: “Onye kwe chi ya ekwe” (whoever believeth, achieveth).
ReplyDeleteChi as the lower force of Chukwu is the only means through which one can get connected. One spiritual law here is that “No one reaches Chukwu directly or gets favor directly from the same supreme force except through Chi.” In this sense, dictation of one’s Chi marks the beginning of one’s spiritual journey on Earth. This is one of the major practices of Ndiigbo.
Often, people receive prophecy that the major cause of their failure is a spirit of their home town. This is not a general spirit for everybody but rather one’s personal Chi. If you receive such a prophecy, it means that Ọdịnala is calling you, which is a problem to some people. The only solution to such a problem is to dictate your personal providence, Chi; identify it by name and know what the spirit wants and how to placate/negotiate with it.