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| Cooking at the Iyi Eke during the second visit |
| The road that leads from Iyi Eke to the Temple of Chukwu is not the only route to the Temple of God and the Oracle of Ibin Ukpabi. Many forest trails, footpaths, and a meandering stream lead from various points in Arochukwu to a place where a gully connects the smaller caves to the temple of Chukwu. |
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| Cooking at the Iyi Eke during the second visit |
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| Stormy introducing
the research team
during the second Iyi Eke visit |
Food preparation
at the Iyi Eke cave
during the second visit |
| Mr. Oji made it clear to us that the Iyi
Eke is sacred and dangerous, especially in the rainy season.
"You see," he told us, "the people of Amannagwu have maintained the sanctity of the Iyi Eke. After the Civil War, yes, in the 1980s, I believe it was. Well I can't remember exactly. But anyway, they appointed Maazi Aniyom as a spiritual leader of Iyi Eke. Since then, Maazi Aniyom with able assistants has managed to preserve the sanctity of Iyi Eke. Before the villagers take you to the Iyi Eke cave, you have to perform specified rituals and make sacrifices." It was not until I returned from the Iyi Eke cave that I found out there are at least six other caves in Arochukwu. The caves served as centers of slave trade and related cult activities. The biggest one of the caves in Arochukwu is the abode of Chukwu (the Supreme God). Together they made up a system, providing a framework for a very elaborate network of slave trading activities in Arochukwu. |
"At this point, if we had people who came
here for consultation, they will stop here. At this point they will
make the sacrifice, the necessary sacrifice. In the course of time
we shall have come back here and make the sacrifice with a ram. If
you look up there that is just the kitchen side. Anything brought
here is cooked there, yam and whatever."
 Before
we crossed there, the man representing the chief priest of Ibin Ukpabi
Chief Otisi performed a libation ritual, saying:
"We are in your presence. People come as far as from Yorubaland and other places. Today, the people visiting you today are our kinfolk--the Old Bende people. There is no stranger among us. We ask you to extend the act of kindness that you extend to our clients. Let them say, 'Thank God that we have visited here today.'" |
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| The lamb being slaughtered
at Iyi Eke |
Sacrifice at the Iyi Eke cave |
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| Returning from the Iyi Eke |
| More Iyi Eke Pictures |
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