The Igbos believes in reincarnation. This belief is called ‘Ilo Uwa’. Reincarnation means ‘to come back to life’. Reincarnation is believed to occur between immediate and extended family and sometimes the person who is reincarnated notifies the family, before their death, who they will come back to the world as.
Some of those who reincarnate do that with good intentions. Those with bad intentions are called ‘ogbanje’. To know whether a child reincarnated or not, one checks for birthmarks or physical features the ancestor had. Also, the behaviors of the baby are checked.Oracles can also confirm the identity of the baby in their past life.
It is important to the Igbo people to know which of their dead has come back to them. To achieve this, when a child is born, a dibia is consulted. They believe that every soul comes back seven times. Sometimes, a soul may reincarnate in two or three persons at a similar time frame.
An easy way to identify a person’s incarnate is by their look, which is usually so similar, their preferences, and perception of things. Sometimes, people’s lives are controlled, unconsciously, by decisions they made in their previous lives.
Reincarnation becomes problematic when certain people become vengeful. Most people are believed to return to homes that treated them callously in their previous lives, for revenge. These people bring nothing but sorrow to their families. An example of such is the Ogbanje. These children come and go frequently, leaving their families devastated.
There are several purposes for reincarnation. Some of which are: acquisition of knowledge, wisdom and experience, healing and transformation, understanding reality, for the joy of it, etc. The Igbos do not see reincarnation as something bad. It only becomes bad in cases of “Ogbanje”.
Reincarnation has always been a subject of interest to me. Good writing!