Chi

- [T1] Chi is one's share of the universal Chi-Ukwu — "the Spirit terminal in Chukwu"; the timeless spiritual essence of each thing. At death and judgement, one's earned share (Oke Chukwu) is held in trust by one's Chi: Chijioke — "Chi holds the share."

- [T1] Onye nyobe Mmuo, o fu Chi ya — whoever pries too deeply into the Spirit ends up seeing his own Chi (also the moral of the wrestler Ojaadiili, who threw every opponent until he threw his own Chi — and died). [pp.63, 130]

- [T1] Achebe (quoted at length in ch.2): a person's Chi is their other identity in spiritland, their complementary spirit-being; the human is "only one half (and the weaker half at that) of a person"; duality is the central Igbo notion — nothing is absolute, nothing stands alone.

- [T2 — Lọọlọ Ama Chi] Chi is not an idol or a "god" but closer to a guiding inner compass — akin to (but deeper than) instinct; it cannot be destroyed or led astray, only suppressed by false beliefs, though it can be redirected by persistence. Compares Aristotle's psyche and critiques Freud's ego as a "bastardization" of such concepts.

- [T2 — 13 Steps] Working definition: Chi = potential energy; Eke = kinetic energy. Eke na chi wo otu mana eke siri na chi bia — Eke and Chi are one, but Eke came from Chi. Born in sync, humans drift out of sync; the work of life is remembering (ncheta) how to realign. One's Chi is unlimited; blessings flow like water from Chi into the "pot" of Eke.

- Proverbs of Chi (traditional; recorded in both tiers):
- Onye kwe, Chi ya ekwe — when one consents/strives, one's Chi consents. [T1 gloss: one's Chi holds one's fate in trust, but effort is required up to (never beyond) one's onatalu Chi.]
- Onye gba nkiti, Chi ya agba — if one stays silent/aloof, one's Chi stays silent too. [T1]
- A na-agba onyeisi egbe, chi ya na-ezere ya mgbo — when the blind man is shot at, his Chi dodges the bullets for him. [T2]
- Mbosi Chi onye kwelu mfu, o banyegodu na mbubo ya o na-efu — the day one's Chi consents to one's getting lost, one gets lost even in one's own compound farm. [T1, p.47]
- Otu nne na-amu mana obughi otu chi na eke — one mother bears many children, but each has their own Chi and Eke. [T2]
- Madu bu chi ibe ya — a person is chi (god) to their fellow. [T2]
- Egwu na Chi yili bia, Egwu na Chi yi ana — music and Chi came together and will leave together. [T1, p.72]