Category Alusi/Arushi

Explore the spiritual realm of the Igbo people with images of Alusi, the deities worshipped in various communities, including depictions of shrines, rituals, and symbolic representations.

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Alusi/Arushi

The Earth Mother, Ala, in an Mbari house in Ebele. 1946

The Earth Mother, Ala, in an Mbari house dedicated to her in Ebele, near Owerri.

This sculpture, captured by William Fagg on February 28, 1946, and currently housed in the British Museum, depicts Ala, the Earth Mother, in Igbo spirituality. She holds a knife in her right hand and rests her left hand on the…

Onyeka Nwokike
6 May 2024

Alusi/Arushi, Dibia

An Igbo shrine with its priest and it’s slave in Orsu, West Isuama Igbo. 1930s

This photograph, captured by G. I. Jones in the 1930s, showcases a central figure in Igbo belief systems – the Alusi shrine with its priest seated and it’s slave standing behind the figure. These sacred figures, traditionally crafted from wood, mud, or a combination of both, served as a powerful link between the physical world and the spirit realm.

Onyeka Nwokike
18 March 2024