The Dynamics of Land Ownership by Deities in Anambra State Nigeria.

Abstract

Anambra State is one of the five Igbo-speaking States that make up South Eastern Nigeria. Among the Igbos of South Eastern Nigeria, land is believed to be owned by both natural and supernatural persons (deities). Ownership of land by the deities in Igboland is as old as the communities themselves. These lands owned by deities include ‘Ajo-ofias’ meaning ‘evil forests’, ‘okwu muo’, or ‘sacred groves’, ‘ana nso’ or sacred land. People who died of dreaded illnesses or who committed grievous ‘offences’ or ‘nso ani’ were deposited in the evil forests. Ownership of an evil forest by any deity arose where someone who committed an offence against the deity died from retribution and the corpse deposited on the deity land thereby converting the land into an Ajo Ofia or an Evil forest. Okwu Muo or Sacred Groves are the earthly abode of the guarding spirits in Igbo land while Ana Nso or Sacred land are such lands where mystical and miraculous events took place in the past. Most Igbo villages had Deity lands. A critical look at the villages in recent times revealed that most of these lands owned by deities are disappearing at an alarming rate while some still remaining exhibit serious human incursions. This paper therefore explored the dynamics of land ownership by deities in Anambra State of Nigeria and concludes that, at the rate the deity lands are disappearing, in the next few decades, all such lands would have disappeared with serious implications on land ownership by deities.

Keywords: Dynamics, Land Ownership, Deities, South Eastern Nigeria.