Mmanwu and The Iboland

By The Ven. Prof. M. Joe Omeokwe, Bronx, NY

I greet you all in the name of Him who is the Christ of God, even Jesus. I am pleading with all and sundry to understand that Mmanwu like any other deep or common occult practices of our Iboland is more than a traditional masquerade.  It is incomparable to any work of cultural art or entertainment no matter how anyone may want to classify it.  I know first hand the power Mmanwu as the absolute power that controls and revolves around the entire community that it represents. The powers of these masquerades differ from one village to the next as exemplified by all the overt and covert diabolical exhibitions during the various festivals. The appearance of masquerades during any event to perform are supposed to be a solemn appearance preceded by acute spiritual purifications and sacred invocations. They are meant not be lightly esteemed.  Some of these masquerades cannot appear in public without adequate consultations with the spirits of the Dead that they represent that give them their potent spiritual powers. I was once blindingly an astute devotee of Mmanwuand now, by the Grace of our Almighty God, I am a Minister of the Gospel of Christ Jesus.  Indeed, I know what the differences are when it comes to spiritual powers (light and darkness) and what they are all about. 

The past glory of many of our Ibo Communities were tied to these masquerades and since the modern generations (since after the Biafra-Nigeria civil war) have not taken solemn steps to know or rather learn the history behind these masquerades which of course has been passed down through oral interpretation, the origins of our masquerades and their significance have been lost.  Those Ibo Communities here in the USA still indulging in celebrations that manifest these masquerade must be made aware of the dire negative spiritual implications.  I am here to argue that this has been the undoing of many of our Ibo communities and especially since some of our solemn cultural festivals have been bastardized due to gross ignorance.  I will say more about these truths when the time permits.

in Ibo land, Mmanwu is an exclusive secret society consisting of adult male members only. Each member must be initiated into the society. Just like Ekpe Society, a member's identity is supposed to be known only to the other members. Mmanwuis not merely about celebrating festivals and to entertain the people during other solemn occasions.   They were the enforcers of village curfews, village spiritual protectors and security guards that eliminate evil people by putting spells on them or enchanting them to death. Hence, the wearing of the various masks to hide their identity from the rest of the village people. The masks are also worn to resemble the spirits of dead members of the communities or so it was intended in the olden days.  Indeed, the wearing of the mask qualifies each masquerade to possess diabolical spiritual powers that are diabolically transmitted to afflict or to protect people.

I am writing briefly on Mmanwu just to let you know about the present undoing of our Ibo peoples and communities. We ignorantly pretend to be serving the ancestral spirits that are beyond us while not correctly knowing how to worship or serve them. Now either we take time to get the right history and correct rituals of Mmanwu as well as rightly performing the required obeisance aptly meant to symbolically bring the whole community to abject subservient to the Ofor these masquerades represent or we would be selling our whole communities into diabolical bondage that stem our people from genuinely moving forward.  Either we serve the powers that our forebears served and served them correctly or we must turn our back on them - breaking off their yokes to serve the living God who has manifested Himself in Christ Jesus.

We can hid under our various Christian or Church denominations while practicing all kinds of evil and wickedness.  But we not forget that the Bible has stated that, "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14 - NIV)

Remember these passages from the Bible?

Matthew 4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

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Galatians 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!

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Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

It is time that all of us from the Ibo extract make up our minds either to serve the gods of our fathers exactly as they did or turn in total and absolute repentance accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  It is time we end the curse over the Iboland that we are perpetuating through the ignorance currently associated with Mmanwu and other deep occult practices.  I am open to dialogue.

Therefore, as God's Servant, I invoke the blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ  - blessings to poured out upon every nook and corner of the Iboland, delivering us from the curse of this ignorance concerning Mmanwu and a host of other occult practices. Amen.

Sincerely,

The Ven. Prof. M. Joe Omeokwe
The Vineyard
Bronx, NY