Amadioha’s Legacy

Many Igbo worshippers still adore him today as the supreme deity, and this is especially true in the eastern Nigerian towns of Mbano and Uturu. The Ibu Uzo Festival in Ehime Mbano, which is only held during the dry season, is one of the many celebrations held in his honour. Because Amadioha is thought to ride a ram, funerals are avoided during wet seasons.

Furthermore, Amadioha, also known as Kamalu was transformed into an oracle by the community of Ozuzu in pre-colonial times, who named it Kamalu Ozuzu. In addition, people pray or curse using proverbs- Amadioha gbagbukwa gi” (Amadioha will strike you) and Chi m le kwee – O wuru si o wu mu mere ihea, amadioha gbagbukwe m (My god please see- If it is true that I did this thing, let Amadioha strike me).

Also, festivals called Ibo Uzo (or Mbom Uzo) honour Uhammiri’s successful effort to convince Amadioha to go back to Mbano following the Conquest of Ikot-Ekpene, which took place during harvest. Early to mid-December sees the celebration of Amadioha, which may be the most widely observed. Devotees march around the villages while intoxicated, giving people mkpurusu, and burning mpanaka and ederi at midnight.

The Fall of Amadioha

In his intrepid youth, Amadioha participated in numerous misadventures. The kills and thrashings of his numerous opponents, including the ogre Ara, a huge dragon, a serpent that stayed by his side at night, and the horse with two heads, stand out among them. The cunning tyrant Ikenga (God of War), whose beheading Amadioha used to install himself as king of Uturu, was also swiftly dealt with.

Alusi, the God of Karma, who Amadioha defeated using only his fists, Nwala, the son of the Earth who had amassed a harem of 8,000 captured women, and the sea-demon Mmiri, who had the appearance of a conch shell and lost his magic shell to Amadioha, which the hero carried afterwards and used as a trumpet, were among the many demons that the hero killed.

Amadioha also had the time to defeat the sea god named Urashi, the fire god named Oku, and even lift the Enugwu, the God of Hills and Valleys, to stop a dreadful downpour sent by Kpakpando (the Star) to Ikot-Ekpene, and the floating mafia city of the Invaders. Amadioha not only wreaked havoc on the Osus, Umes, and Ohus, but also on simple mortals. He took possession of them and gave them to himself. They were made into his slaves and consorts.

Amadioha constructed the large fortified city of Uturu as it is today in Isikwuato throughout previous exploits. Seven days after Amadioha was unintentionally slain when a hunter’s arrow mistakenly struck his heel in the presence of his favourite ram, Aguba, Uturu was swallowed up by the ocean and drowned, turning the ruins of a once-vibrant town into nothing. Additionally, Amadioha had bested Agwu, the God of Possession, by stealing the revered oha tree from Mbano. The tree was planted by Amadioha at Uturu, but after his passing, it was brought back to Agbaja in Ehime Mbano.

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