The Concept Of Ehi and Spirituality Among the Esan People of Nigeria

The Esan people of Nigeria have a deep sense of spirituality and a strong belief system. That is what we are going to explore in this article, including the concept of Ehi, an Esan interpretation of divine personal guidance, or an individual’s invisible torchlight in the journey of life and beyond.

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Before diving in, I quickly want to make a reference to a historical event in Uromi. In the wake of the Esan-Bini War of 1502 to 1503, a pivotal moment unfolded in the history of the Esan people—a moment that would shape a spiritual consciousness for centuries to come.

As the dust settled and the echoes of the battle faded, the figure of Agba, the then Onojie of Uromi emerged, not merely as a warrior king but as a symbol of divine strength and resilience among Uromi and Esan people.

Deified by the people of Uromi, a few years after his death, Agba would become enshrined in the annals of Esan spirituality, an example of the profound interweaving of history, culture, and faith in the worldview of the Esan people. But this too will change later through Western religious indoctrination of the local people, particularly in the period of colonialism and neo-colonialism. We will briefly discuss this later in the conversation.

Due to his significant role both as the king (Onogie) of Uromi and the leader of the Uromi/Esan army in the war against Benin, Agba is today regarded as the Esan God of War. When peace returned and the relationship improved between the Benin and Uromi people, years later, and the Esan army again started to fight alongside the Benin army, the chief priest of Agba would take Agba to battle along with the Esan army to guarantee their victory.

Now, this was a common practice even among the Romans, the Persians, and other people of the ancient world who often took their gods to battle for the same reason as the Esan people and Agba, their god of war.

Even to date, the United States, which is presently the leading warring country of the world, often calls on religious leaders such as catholic bishops or priests to pray for their army before departing for battle. All these demonstrate the importance of spirituality and god consciousness to a people, both in the time past and still today.

Now, let’s try to understand the meaning of “god consciousness” so that the rest of the conversation can make more sense.

What Is Even God Consciousness?

Both among Esan and many other African people and beyond, god consciousness or spiritual awareness for some is seen as a state of heightened awareness or spiritual connection in which individuals feel deeply attuned to the presence, essence, or divine nature of god or the divine.

It entails a profound sense of unity with the divine and a recognition of the sacredness and interconnectedness of all existence. Those who experience god consciousness often report feelings of awe, reverence, and humility, as well as a deep sense of peace, love, and compassion.

The following is a clip from a publication on the US National Library of Medicine – Neurotheology: The relationship between brain and religion: “Neurotheology” refers to the multidisciplinary field of scholarship that seeks to understand the relationship between the human brain and religion.”

The publication added that “In its initial development, neurotheology has been conceived in very broad terms relating to the intersection between religion and brain sciences in general.”

What this demonstrates is that the state of consciousness transcends ordinary perception and egoic identification, leading individuals to perceive reality from a broader, more inclusive perspective.

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Practices such as ancestral venerations, often practiced in family or village shrines, meditation, offering individual or collective prayers to the ancestors, contemplation, and observing different forms of spiritual disciplines are often employed to cultivate and deepen one’s sense of god consciousness. All these help to foster a sense of inner harmony, purpose, and alignment with the divine will.

Unlike most regimented religions, like Islam or Christianity, god consciousness and spirituality among Esan people have no undue pressure to participate. There is no need to convert other people who have different belief systems, and unlike in Christianity, there is no need to condemn anyone to everlasting suffering in hellfire for evil doing.

Of course, Esan spirituality has room for atonement and purification in case of wrongdoing, but that has nothing to do with suffering in hellfire for eternity. That simply does not exist in Esan spirituality and philosophy of life.

Obehi – According to a Divine Plan

As you would have noticed by now, my name is “Obehi” and that is actually two Esan words joined together. The first is “Obo” meaning hand and the second is “Ehi” translated as the divine guardian or guardian angel. Now, this is the story behind my name.

We are 10 siblings, (9 from my mother and a stepsister who is actually the first child of the family). Except for my mother’s first child, every other child till my turn was male, and being in a village with lots of farm work and domestic activities, my mother was hoping to have a female child when she was pregnant with me.

And with probably no ultrasound or modern medical procedures to determine the gender of her baby, she remained hopeful until the day I was born in the house. Upon her realization that this was another male child, she made the pronouncement: “Obe ehi oye”, meaning it’s in the hand of destiny or fate. Of course, I couldn’t go around with a phrase as my name, so it was shortened to “Obehi”.

So, my mother, may her soul rest in peace, whenever she called my name “Obehi”, she remembered that day, the female child she wanted during her pregnancy and the male child she eventually got, including the message she printed on her child, “Obe ehi oye”. As if she was saying, “This is a divine plan”. With that now out of the way, let’s go ahead and explore more about the concept of Ehi in Esan spirituality. So, pay attention. Read more at https://aclasses.org/esan-spirituality/