The gods in Ancient Lugbara Cosmogony
By Charles Nyanya O’biguma

Adro Oru’bua was high god of firmament and underworld. ’Bua is the firmament, sky-went and the underworld, the world beyond the grave. Oru’bua was the creator of the universe. His power is felt on all the earth, orodrikuru. He gave life for humans and cares for humans. Any offense against Oru’bua was ransomed by slaying a fit lamb as a sacrifice, or releasing the fit lamb to wander in the wilderness as a scapegoat, or drowning the fit lamb in a river as an innocent victim. No any other god deserved a lamb except Oru’bua; and not a single god demanded human sacrifice to appease him. Adro Ala was god of the River. He brought good harvest of crops and plenty of fish for the people to have their livelihood. Adro Ani was god of oral history. In recounting history of the past and tradition, elders sought the help of Ani. Let Ani help us, Ani ma ko ama aza. Adro Ruduu was god of fairness. Ruduu sought after fairness among humans. His desire was to see justice done and people reconciled and culprits punished.

Adro Ani was god of fire. Adro Loburomva was god of children. He dwelt at springs and well. These were regarded gods who are sons of god Oru’bua. An egg of chicken for Loburomva to cure a child of malaria, yitiyitia was necessary in the morning. Adro Lekuvi was god of thunder. The clouds were his dwelling place. He assumed the appearance of a lamb of the sky but only revealed the lamb tail part to be seen on earth, orodria. He was god in the sky at the service of the creator and he kept watch over the earth. He made sure people kept true to their words they make in promise and oath, oyo. Adro Magara was god of mischief. Magara was an ill-omened god who did nothing but brought humans troubles, miseries and doom. Magara knew nothing but evil and lured people into evil. Adro Lulu was terrible god. His appearance was very bad. Adro Letia was god of women. Letia stood for women’s cause and children. She was a god of fertility. She demanded that a goat be slaughtered that a woman may have a child. Letia made her appearences in the evening.

Adro Leke was god of curse, nyoka, who rested on the housetop of the household of the cursed until the curse was lifted by slaughter of a bull for a man and a cow for a woman for whichever social strife provoked the ancestors to give way to let fall the fog of curse upon the household. Adro Mangaraka was god of the sky. He was ever in astral travel and held sword, reeo, by his hand. He rarely involved himself with earthly affairs. Adro Otopiora was god of war. He was a giant who lived emerged from the bottom of water to wage war which no humans can fight but only see calamities.

Adro Anyikia was god of whirlwind. The god is married with children. The family lives on high mountains and the family can visit other members on the other mountains. Nothing stood on the path of Anyikia. Adro Voka was god of the earth. Voka had the word and lordship of earthly affairs and had the pleasure of the earth, orodri. But he was subject to the god of the sky-world.

The elementary gods, adroyi, in the polytheistic ancient Lugbara cosmogony, were spiritual beings and had spiritual existence. Personification of the gods played great role in the cosmogony of the primeval people. The world of the gods was high above the world of the ancestral spirits, ori and the world of the lesser deities, adrogoa. These gods were not dumb. Rather, the primeval people rated the gods as intelligent personalities in the spirit-world. The gods manifested themselves in different ways. Some manifested themselves in dreams, orobi. The gods of the mountains and of the rivers begot themselves children who dwelt in the mountains and in the valleys. The other gods dwelt in the forest and the bush, oce and rudu, respectively. Adro Ani, god of fire, became a god of cosmogonic personification with the element of fire. The rite of fire, acife, had so involved Ani because fire became personified as Ani. The testament, the word, e’yo, Lugbara ti, of the elders was by Ani. Ani dwelt in bush and could inflict the furnace-fire, oka-aci, on people and it was known as adra.

Error of language sometimes occurs today in casual talks where still one may hear another person say, Adro azi fi pi ma rua ’di ri di ngoleri ’i ya? Which a god, now, has seized and entered into me? Adro ru eca di ‘dia? Is this of coming (manifestation) of a god? Adro fi ma rua ni? Am I possessed by a god? Adro fii mi rua ni? Are you possessed by gods? Idiocy was the sign and the mark that one was possessed by the gods. Humans were subject to the gods. Though otherworldly, the gods imagined in the sky, under the world, and in the water , high mountains, wells and springs, forest and bushes, assumed in different ways the control of human life and fate of humans as well. The ancient Lugbara cosmogony was some sort of religious consciousness and the phenomenon of crude polytheistic picture.

Editor's Note:
This is the second in a series of articles on Lugbara culture and religion by Charles Nyanya O'biguma