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Of Ram and Men: The Sumerian Ikenga

MATTHIAS IFEJIKA

The Sumerian Classical Academy, Akadiana Research Building, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

The depiction of a deity having an erect phallus (ithyphallicism) and horns is as old as mankind.

With the identification of the black-headed people who came from the ancient town, Kienga and

bore the ancient title Kienga, it became easy to resolve not just the mystery of Sumerian origin

but also the mystery of the ram-headed ithyphallic deity. The ithyphallic tradition neither

originated from ancient Egypt nor ancient Greece rather this common art motif (as seen below)

is a consequence of Sumerian migration from the Niger of antiquity (Kworra) to other parts of

the world. It is a classical sculpture that has existed more than 5000 years considering that

Sumerians would have been worshipping it before migrating with it.

If not that Prof. John Hayes of University of California, had indicated that Sumerians called one of their towns, kienga, as well as bore the title, Kienga, I would not have been able to trace it. It is important to note that the actual word was restored wrongly as the right spelling is – Ikenga. We are talking about a deity that was worshipped more than 5000 years ago and is still worshipped till date. Yet again, Ikenga happens to be the ancient Sumerian (Igbo) ram-headed ithyphallic deity shown below.

Depiction of Sumerian (Igbo) Ikenga

Right here on the Niger of antiquity, we still have men bearing such titles and we still have the Sumerian ancient town of Ikenga. The word often can be found in some other place names as in Ikenga-Ogidi. The presence of this key word in Sumerian shows that the ancient people who migrated to Middle East were talking about their aboriginal land around River Niger. When this term appears in toponyms, it may indicate a people that worship this ancestral deity. I doubt

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if there was any place in ancient Middle East called Ikenga or Kienga or if there is anyone bearing such titles in modern day Iraq. If anyone knows, let them bring it to world’s attention. Undoubtedly, it must have been used as a divine title in ancient Eriaka – a civilization that was established on the Niger. It is not difficult to locate the East, which the Sumerians indicated they came from, where the ancient town of Ikenga was located and most importantly, the river they crossed during their migration. The etymology of Ikenga As indicated in the Wise Men From the East, ‘The word, Ikenga, is from the root, ike meaning strength. The word – Ikenga means place of strength. Ikenga has a lot to do with the root or base chakra. In addition, that instinctive will – impulse, effort, perseverance, etc to live, achieve and become better through oneself is based on the willpower of one’s Ikenga. The name – ikenga is the root word that gave rise to the word: king. The term – Ikenga, appearing before another proper name will indicate title: as in ‘Ikenga na Uru’ meaning ‘The Ikenga of Uru town’. ‘The term – nike, which has the same root as dike was thought to derive from the Ancient Greek term – nikn, meaning victory and in turn from the Egyptian, Coptic term, nekht meaning strength, victory, power yet this word is older than both civilisations. The verb, nike, appeared in Ancient Egyptian literature and hieroglyphics referring to the pharaoh. It was probable that the pharaoh was referred to as Ikenga meaning ram-headed king in veneration of the ancient ram-headed ithyphallic deity, which was also associated with power and victory. ‘The Greek also denoted their Goddess of victory as ‘Nike’. Not many scholars know that the origin of the words: Ike, Nike, Dike, Ikenga, which were used as names of people as well as title (in the case of Dike, Ikenga) – were traceable to the River Niger Civilisation, where the general idea shared by these names is strength/power – from the root, ike. This root appears in Bantu as nke, meaning solid, hard, fixed (this Bantu meaning is also found in Igbo)’. The Greek of the lower Nile Delta and Cyrenaica combined features of supreme god Zeus with features of the Egyptian god Ammon-Ra hence he was depicted with horns as shown below.

Zeus Ammon

The Ram of God – Ebune Dei Quite a lot of animals were representative of diverse deities in Ancient Egypt and were venerated as their embodiments. These include: bulls, cows, cats, dogs, geese, crocodiles and even beetles. The bull is widely revered as a symbol of male strength, potency and virility,

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particularly in the cultures of India, the Near East, and the Mediterranean. In ancient Egypt, just like their aboriginal homeland, the Niger, the ram was venerated for its fertility and warlike attributes. There is an adage, which is used to expound the warlike attributes of the ram and it is: The ram goes into fight with the head, which translates as follow - Ebune ji isi eje ogu. The Erian (pertaining to River Niger civilisation) Ram Lord is the origin of horned deity worship. In the Bible, we learn about God sending Abraham the head of a ram to prevent him sacrificing his only son. The Old Testament refers to sacrifices of lambs as a means of atonement for sins. Leviticus 4:32-34 says, ‘If you offer a lamb instead of a goat as a sacrifice for sin, it must be a female that has nothing wrong with it. Lead the lamb to the altar and lay your hand on its head, before having it killed. The priest will dip a finger in the blood, smear some of it on each of the four corners of the altar, and pour out the rest at the foot of the altar’. The goat is often associated with the devil although in ancient times, the ram was a symbol of Christ. Ram has key significance in esoteric studies but the lamb was hardly a cultural animal. The ram was originally divine hence I often called it the Ebune Dei meaning the Ram of God. The word Dei is an ancient Igbo (Sumerian) word meaning God. It is still in use west of the River Niger and did not originate with the Greeks. The Egyptian ram-headed sphinx is shown below.

Ram statues lining the entrance to Amun's Temple

The significance of horn in ancient art Ancient art depicts a lot of men with horns. The horn means a lot to different people. The regions of the hippocampus in the brain are called the cornu ammonis – literally ‘Amun's Horns’, due to the horned appearance of the dark and light bands of cellular layers. The depiction of individuals with horns is very much a deification. Women had also been depicted with horns. Divine is the man that bears the horn. Many today may have forgotten the cultural significance. Once a man becomes an Ikenga, he ultimately becomes a godman and not a devil. It is through the horn that the king became a god. Some scholars proposed that the Mesopotamian divine kingship had a lot to do with horned crown. If wearing a horned crown

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was used as a symbol of divinity, it would have been in veneration of the ancient ram-headed deity, the Ikenga. Quite a lot of Egyptian Gods were associated with ram and the ram was revered in ancient Egypt just as it was on the Niger. The horned crown might have symbolised the king’s virility, fertility, morality, enlightenment and power. With the horn, man was able to create his own image and likeness. The upright one is not only associated with virility and fertility but also morality. It is through moral erection that one ascends the heavenly places. If we delve deeper into the Egyptian mysteries, it is the righteous one that stands erect to testify the hidden things of the heart. No one can lie against the upright one. How can one become if not through the righteous one, the one who created things from within himself? With the corruption of ancient art, the horn came to be associated with the devil hence it was often thought in popular culture that the devil has either a large horn or a large phallus. These horned deities became dehumanised and demonised as devils in the Christian world. Below are depictions of Baphomet and Moses with the same symbolic horns.

Baphomet and Moses depictions

Ikenga in Erian theology and mysticism Generally, Ikenga is a personal god of human endeavor, achievement, success, and victory. It is based on the premise that one’s power to accomplish things is one’s right hand. The deity is depicted in different ways. The two-faced Ikenga is like a double-edge sword and remains the oldest concept in Erian Omenala. As a deity with two face, I called it the divine paradox. As the God of beginning, Ikenga is often revered with the phrasing Ikenga owa ota. Feeding one’s Ikenga is very much like one boosting one’s confidence. It is nothing short of self-cultivation through one’s own hard work. That can mean different things in diverse contexts. For instance, it could be about boosting one’s athletic prowess, intellectual power, moral strength, physical prowess, military prowess, etc. Ancient Sumerians consecrated their Ikenga, in the presence of their kinsmen or age mates and this was done by the lineage head. The deity Ikenga is often depicted as Ikenga madu (human), Ikenga alusi (spirit), and ntu aga (divination objects). For example, if Marduk (Maduka) was an ozo man 5000 years ago, he would have kept Ikenga Maduka. Thus, both living and non-living things possess that power that enable them to achieve whatever their power allows them to achieve. The warrior Ikenga symbolises military prowess and it is often depicted seated on a stool with the right hand holding a knife with a pronounced handle and a slightly curved blade. The left hand is

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shown with a tusk or more often, a severed human head with eyes, nose, and mouth bulging out of the concave face. The knife is always held in the right hand, called aka ikenga (the hand of Ikenga). The Ikenga is also called a shrine to the right hand. The depiction of Ikenga with horns imbues it with extra power. The ram goes into fight with the head because it is where all its arsenal of power is based and in the same way, one is expected to meet the struggles of life with one’s distinctive abilities. The community Ikenga is very much like their coat of arm showing a great deal of artistic distinctiveness. Often the motifs are representative of the communities’ achievements or what they are known for. Communities that are predominantly warriors, hunters, traders or even farmers will seek to create their Ikenga after their own prowess or imbue its image with such qualities that enabled them to stand out. During festivals, all males that were born in the previous year were brought before the community Ikenga. This was very much like a citizenship ceremony as it was during such periods that they were validated as the diana (true sons) of the land. The kosher food of Ikenga Ikenga also has its kosher food. Things like yam, cock, wine, kolanuts and alligator pepper were sacrificed to it and it was a normal practise to feed one’s Ikenga on a daily basis with kola and wine. These practises might have served other psychological purposes considering the anatomy and physiology of man. Before any major undertaking, ancient Sumerians would have sacrificed a cock or ram to induce the spirit to help him succeed. If one succeeded finally, thanksgiving offering was also given to Ikenga. The idea of luck is based on one’s personal chi, which is then made possible through the conscious rituals of boosting one’s Ikenga. Ikenga Titlehood and Sumerian Omenala When a man reaches the age of peerages, then he can keep a different Ikenga. The three-legged stool, known as the Awka stool, was reserved for one of the highest rank of the title system, the ozo title. Throughout West Africa, the number, 3, is associated with male. An ozo title holder can have his sceptre (known as ofo) decorated with the imagery of his chosen Ikenga. The sceptre symbolises authority, and it is made from a special wood (often struck by lightning) or forged from metal. In ancient times, titled men often had a young manservant or maidservant helping them to carry their stool and tusk. Some distinctive Ikenga are often decorated with ‘ichi scarification pattern’, consisting of parallel vertical lines on the forehead and temples. The ichi marks were used to distinguish the highest-ranking title holders and it was used as a mark of the nobility. Taking the Ikenga title is one of the practices of Sumerian Omenala (what Late Emeritus Professor Kramer, restored as mes). In the Wise Men From the East: Tracing the origin of Sumerians and their Civilisation, I indicated that it could have been a title of Divine Kingship. In the Sumerian king list, one noble by name – enshakushana was credited as the first ruler that took the title – Kienga (written also as enkiengir). No doubt that the character and his title were restored wrongly since the original name was Ikenga. Ancient Sumerians depicted their Gods with horns as seen above and this tradition was carried Egypt, where this same deity was worshipped as Amun Ra. On his right hand, you could see the ancestral sceptre known as Ofo (Ovo) and he is often shown holding a human head or a pot of charms. In the Wise Men From the East, I also discussed about the omenala of handing the sceptre. European artists often

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depicted their kings in the same manner as seen below. Such depictions imbued the king with the powers of a deity. The syncretism of Ikenga It was Ikenga that became syncretised into Amun Ra. Egyptian Amun Ra is quite visible in art and his status as the King of the Gods reached the stage where others Gods were perceived as being his manifestation. He was the most widely recorded deity of the Egyptian pantheon of Gods and was also worshipped in Ancient Libya, Nubia and Ancient Greece, where he became known as Zeus. The true origin of this deity enables us to appreciate the many aspects of its syncretism. The Sumerian word, amụ means both phallus and birthing. It is through the sacred art of Ra, meaning copulate that the hidden one manifests itself. The act of manifestation or emerging out is known as pụta. We are the living image of Amun. This Sumerian (Igbo) word, pụta, often written as ptah means emerge out. It can be found in quite a lot of languages around the world having the same meaning for instance Maori language (puta). As seen above, Ikenga is depicted with an erect phallus and ram’s horn, which happens to be its symbolic animal. Below is a depiction of Amun Ra as Amun Min at the Temple of Karnak.

Amun-Min as Amun-Ra ka-Mut-ef from the temple at Deir el Medina

As indicated in the Wise Men From the East, ‘The pharaohs of Egypt were depicted in the image of this deity and this association might have conferred some divine status on them. Perhaps, with such reference, the pharaoh would have been venerated as a ‘divine king’ or ‘warrior-king’. In addition, such depictions might have indicated that the Pharaoh was the son or representative of the ram-headed deity, which originated from their old kingdom’. Not only did men wear horns, women were depicted with the Ram hairdo in veneration of the ram-headed deity. It sounds right that the priestess of Amon Ra will style herself in the image of the deity that she oversees.

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Depiction of priestess of Amon Ra

Below is the Egyptian God known to many scholars as Khnum. Khnum is the God of creation and the waters. According to Wikipedia, ‘He was usually depicted as a ram-headed man at a potter's wheel, with recently created children's bodies standing on the wheel, although he also appeared in his earlier guise as a water-god, holding a jar from which flowed a stream of water’. He is the deity who pours libation into the furnace in order that life would be formed.

Depiction of Khunum with the head of a ram

Phallicism in Erianism and classical Greek The phallus has a lot of cultural significance in Erianism. Biologically and philologically, we are one family of species because we came from one ‘onunu utu’ meaning one phallic stalk. In ancient cultures, the phallic was used in expressing genealogical relationships. To express that we share quite a lot of ancestral connections and avoid detailing the intricate connections within the family tree, one can simply say in classical Sumerian style that ‘Anyi niile bụ ofu ọnụnụ utu’, translated: ‘we are of one phallic stalk’. To express such familial relationships, one can as well say that: ‘We sprouted from one phallic stalk’. The ancient Greek understanding of the

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thyrsus is not different from ancestral imagination. Ancient erian deities were often depicted bearing an erect stalk or pine cone, which symbolises the flower of life. In ancient religious thought, there is an esoteric connection between a snake and the phallus. Strangely enough, the idea of ‘creating’ (eke) and serpent (eke) is the same linguistically as revealed in the Wise Men From the East. The serpent in the Garden of Eden was there to reveal the mystery of creation to Adam and Eve. Phallicism has a lot to do with strength (ike) and aggressiveness (isike). In ancient times, a male displaying effeminacy would have his phallic status questioned as courage was associated with masculinity. Ikenga imagery also has to do with morality, judgment, etc. According to Delia Morgan, ‘Among the Greek Gods, only two were depicted as ithyphallic: Pan, the wild and woolly goat-god of rural Arcadia, and Priapus, the son of Dionysos not minding that Dionysos was never shown with an erection although considered a fertility deity. The kinds of animal imagery which are most often associated with Dionysos would, therefore, seem to emphasize his maleness’. ‘The phallic imagery in Greece mostly appeared in two religious contexts: the Dionysian and the Hermetic. Hermes was a god of boundaries, and a deity who could pass easily between the realms of earth, sky and underworld. His symbol was the caduceus wrapped with serpents, a tool not so dissimilar to the phallic, ivy-wrapped thyrsus. His image, placed atop square-cut herms with prominent phalloi, often served as a boundary marker, warding off unwanted intrusions. Burkert interpreted this symbolism as a primal territorial gesture of exhibitionism; which is found among male monkeys in the wild meeting together and displaying their genitalia to ward off threats from invaders’. ‘The phallic in a Dionysian context, far from guarding a boundary, marks the dramatic penetration of barriers, a forceful intrusion of the wild, chaotic and mysterious god into the rational, restrained confines of the Greek psyche. The Dionysian phallus is therefore a threat to, rather than a reinforcement of, the established social order. Dionysos is a god who liberates his followers through an act of possession, thereby enabling access to realms of sacred ecstasy. Crashing through the tightly drawn lines that divide the human from the animal and the divine, his is the thyrsus that shatters the rock, and draws from it sweet milk and honey’. ‘Dionysos is a god of both life-giving potency and death-dealing violence, and the thyrsus/phallus embodies both of these qualities The Dionysian symbols also disclose a clear connection between the potency of the phallus and the fertility of the plant kingdom. The deity is depicted bearing a ‘thyrsus’, a fennel stalk topped by a pine cone and wrapped in ivy, and it has been interpreted as a phallic symbol. The maenads, followers of Dionysos, pound the thyrsus on ground, which drips honey and causes milk and wine to gush up from the earth. This phenomenon presents some sexual symbolism (Euripedes, lines 700-715). The thyrsus was also the weapon of choice for the god and his followers, and was endowed with deadly, flesh-rending force. In ancient cultures, the phallus is often depicted as a weapon, and the idea that the thyrsus is both a weapon and fertility symbol is justifiable’.

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References Ifejika, Matthias., 2015, The Wise Men from the East – tracing the origin of Sumerians and

their civilisation, United States: CreateSpace.

Morgan, Delia. The Ivied Rod: Gender and Phallus in Dionysian Religion, 2000. Available at: http://home.earthlink.net/~delia5/pagan/dio/tp99s-dnys-donnr.htm

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amun

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