Agwu Nsi, also known as Agwo Nsi in southeastern Nigeria, is the Alusi of divination among the Igbo people, venerated within the Odinani religious framework. Agwu is understood as a spiritual entity possessing intellectual and volitive faculties that exerts significant influence on human affairs, revered as the patron spirit of the dibia, or diviner-healer, and as the source of inspiration for exceptionally gifted individuals. Agwu is believed to enforce various determinations: the sick attribute their fate to Agwu, the creatively gifted credit Agwu's benevolent influence, and a dibia is believed to become possessed by the spirit. Despite the effects of modernization, Agwu's influence in Igbo religious life persists.
Facts
Attestation
Veneration TodayActively venerated in a living tradition 2 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Function
Domain / FunctionProphecy and divination 1 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. Encyclopedia of African Religion
Molefi Kete Asante and Ama Mazama, editors, SAGE Publications
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