Chukwu, the high god, had summoned all the gods and goddesses he had created to the heavens. He sat on his glorious throne holding the ofor, the staff of authority. His face was so bright that it was difficult for any of the gods to describe how he actually looked. His white long hair floated in the air and on his head was a crown decked with the shiniest diamonds. His hands were ornamented with rings that had all the beautiful gems you can think of and his feet rested on thick clouds.

As quickly as Chukwu had given his order for their presence, the gods began to troop in, one after the other, and they sat down according to their hierarchy. The heavens felt the presence of Amadioha. Clothed in radiant white apparel and a head with long thick horns shaped like that of a ram, with his staff fashioned like lightening and his eyes as sharp as thunder, he genuflected and paid his homage of a big white ram and affirmed his loyalty to Chukwu. Beside him was Ala, the earth goddess and his wife. Her hair was as tall as the palm trees, her skin as brown as the fine earth and her eyes as blue as the clear skies. She had the great python coiled around her left hand and the crescent moon sat on her head as her crown. She, too, paid her homage of a large basket that contained all the best foods the land could provide. Anyanwu, the sun goddess, cat walked into the heavens with the sun above her head. She was aware of the stares her radiant beauty caused. Ala had casted a look of mild jealousy at her direction when she slowly genuflected at Chuwku and paid her homage by blessing him with more life.

Next was Ikenga, the god of war. He was closely followed by his pet, a lion with great mane and two long teeth that scraped the white clouds while it walked. Ikenga stormed in wearing only the skin of one of the great predatory animals to cover his crotch and he had a big sharp machete that glistened under the combined brightness of Chukwu and Anyanwu. He praised the high god and offered a large white tiger as his homage. Idemili, the goddess of the oceans and seas, arrived in her magnificent ship that was made of pure gold. She held her trident which she used to control the waves of the waters and her hair was as transparent and clean as the springs. She offered a locked box that held some of the finest treasures of the sea as her tribute to Chukwu.

Awgu, the trickster god and god of divination, arrived at the venue in the heavens. He firmly held this staff of two bamboo sticks tied with a piece of red cloth. The other gods did not want him to sit beside them, especially Ikenga who was once tricked by the god to drink out of a pond that was supposed to make him stronger. The water from the pond made Ikenga sleepy and he almost missed his intervention to a human clan that had implored his help. Awgu had a grin pasted on his face as he sat beside Anyanwu. This made Ala slightly pleased.

Closely followed were the other gods: Eke, Orie, Afor and Nkwo, the four gods that ruled the human market days, Udo the god of diplomacy, Njoku ji the guardian deity of yam, Igwekala thegod of masquerades, Agwu Nsi the god of healing arts, amongst other deities.

Ekwensu and Ogbunabali, the gods of evil and death respectively, came in much later after the gods were seated. The other gods sucked in their breath when they saw them. These were the gods who had challenged the throne of Chukwu and Chukwu had cast them down to the underworld of dead souls as punishment. Both adorned in black robes that oozed black goo and with black smoke resting on their great heads, they bowed their heads to Chukwu in a mocking manner and took their seats.

All the gods sat in a big circle and the high god stood up and floated to the middle of that circle. He greeted them in the traditional manner.

“Alusi, kwenu!”

“Yaa!”, they replied in unison.

“Alusi, kwenu!”

“Yaa!”

“Alusi, kwezue nu!”

“Yoooooo!”

And thus, the meeting began.

Chukwu asked each god to give an account of their respective jurisdictions. Amadioha stepped forward and gave account of a neighbouring village who had desecrated the land by killing an innocent boy. His anger was fuelled by the fact that the villagers refused to appease Ala, his wife, and so he decided to punish them. Ala came forth next and affirmed the story of her husband. However, she reported that other lands have been offering the needful sacrifices and so she blessed their farmlands with good harvest. Anyanwu sauntered towards Chuwku and bowed her head in reverence. She reported the good productivity of the humans and their wellbeing. However, she scorched the land which Amadioha had penalized with blazing heat so that they could not plant anything to eat. She had said that if Amadioha was angry, she too became angry. This made Ala cringe in near disgust.

Ikenga talked about the wars fought and won and Idemili gave account of the abundance of fishes the fishermen had gathered over time. Each god gave their own account, even Awgu talked about how he wrecked vengeance on humans who had lied about a crime and still swore on his name. Ekwensu and Ogbunabali gave no report.

“As usual, we still torment the dead thrown into our territory”, Ogbunabali said.

“Ah, yes. The evil forest stinks of them. I am only happy when I make a good man do evil things”, Ekwensu added with a big smile on his face.

The other gods could not tell Chukwu’s reaction. His radiance covered whatever feeling he may have had by Ekwensu’s statement.

Chukwu told his fellow deities that he had looked upon all earth and he had seen the sufferings of his creation.

“You give me all these good news”, he began, “But what I see is contrary. My children whose hearts are evil are oppressing the ones who have remained good. They do not sacrifice to us as much as we desire and they are beginning to lose faith in our ability”. The gods bowed their heads in sadness but the duo, Ekwensu and Ogbunabali, smiled even more.

“I have decided to bring up a solution to address this increased malevolence”, Chukwu continued. As if on cue, two spirits floated in with a large basin on their heads. They placed the basin in front of Chukwu and he beckoned to the gods and goddesses to take a look. In the basin was water so clear and crystal, and on the water was a maiden keenly peeling cassava. Her name was Oluoma.

The deities looked at each other in confusion as they wondered why the high god showed them this maiden.

“I have chosen her as the carrier of my solution. She will beget a son for me and I will use him to cleanse the land. He will be both god and man”.

The deities were awestruck. Chukwu was planning on creating a demigod. But who amongst them would take the message to the maiden, Oluoma.? Chukwu gave that responsibility to two of the deities. Ala was to send her messenger, Agbala, to the house of Ihuoma and inform her of the task she would be doing for Chukwu and Awgu was to send his priests to affirm the message Ala would deliver.

And so, the meeting was concluded and the deities dispersed. Although they all agreed to what Chukwu had said, Ekwensu and Ogbunabali had other plans for the maiden and her demigod of a son.