Egbesu

Sources do not provide a single creation myth. Egbesu is described in Ijaw sources as the deity or spiritual foundational force of justice for the Ijaw people; it functions historically as a cult organizing principles of communal protection and regulation of warfare. Colonial disruption reduced its public prominence in the late 19th century, with notable resurgence of the spiritual and mobilizing aspects during late 20th–early 21st century Niger Delta conflicts.

There is no consistent anthropomorphic description of Egbesu in the available sources. The divine force is symbolized by large cats—leopard, panther, and lion. Marks and material signs associated with adherents and initiates include scarification (cicatrices on hidden parts of the body), amulets/talismans, white chalk face paint, and application of medicated plant leaves to the forehead; these are practices of followers rather than attributes of the deity itself.

Egbesu is believed to confer spiritual power to communities and to individual fighters when rites of initiation and priestly sanction are observed. Beliefs recorded in multiple sources report that initiates may be ritually fortified—including reputed protection from enemy bullets—conditional on initiation, conformity with Egbesu ethics (use only in defence or to correct injustice), and communal/ritual support. Egbesu also functions as a moral regulator and legitimating ideology: it prescribes that force is permissible only defensively or to redress injustice and is administered via an institutional priesthood that controls declarations of war.