Woyengi

The Ijaw people of the West African country of Nigeria who practice traditional religion indigenous to their culture believe that the Earth was created by a female deity named Woyengi, the “Great Mother.” The creation story of Woyengi testifies to her standing fiercely on the edge of the universe and observing an Earth filled with animals and vegetation, but nothing else. In the void, Woyengi descended to the Earth on a ray of lightning. At the end of her journey, the goddess stood before a table, chair, and flat stone and, with the mud of the Earth, created human dolls that were neither male nor female. She then filled their lungs with the breath of life. The dolls represented the souls of humanity and went before Woyengi to find their purpose. They were asked to choose whether they wanted to be male or female, the kind of blessings they wanted to receive (such as money, talents, or children), and their selected occupation. Depending on the destiny they chose for themselves, some dolls were sent down a stream with clear, calm waters and others down one with torrent waves. However, once the dolls were sent down a specific path, there was no turning back, and Woyengi became known as the goddess of destiny. This fixed fate proved disturbing to one of those souls.

There were two women created by Woyengi on that day. Both women are believed by some Ijaw to be the daughters of Woyengi. The first woman chose to give birth to many children, and the other chose to wield magic over the world. These two women grew up as sisters, and when they came of age and married, they both fulfilled the destiny set before them at creation. The first woman gave birth to many children, and the other woman, named Ogboinba, performed her magic. Yet Ogboinba became discouraged with her choice because, although she could heal and prophesy, she could not enjoy the love of a child like her sister. Her jealousy and sadness overcame her to the extent that she journeyed back to the Great Mother to see whether she could choose again and be reborn as something else. Along the way, Ogboinba met animals, humans, and other gods whom she destroyed and whose powers she assimilated into her own. Unfortunately, these powers [Page 726]weighed her down and, ultimately, Woyengi vehemently denied Ogboinba's request, angrily reminding her that the choice she made was hers alone. In her fear, Ogboinba retreated into the eyes of the pregnant woman, where the Ijaw believe she remains today.

The Ijaw have many variations to this creation story, with each one varying in small details, but all are consistent in the concept of a maternal creator permitting the free will of the creation. As a people living along the Niger delta, the story of Woyengi as a creator falls in line with the traditional human characterization of spirits and gods in traditional Ijaw religion. Above and beyond their sheer dominance and power as gods, Ijaw deities often took on human qualities, both strengths and limitations. Woyengi's emotional response to Ogboinba's request is just one example of such personification.

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