Anyanwu

{{Short description|Igbo sun goddess}}

{{For|the sculpture by Ben Enwonwu|Anyanwu (sculpture)}}

{{Infobox deity

| type = Igbo

| name = Anyanwu

| image =

| caption =guilty

| deity_of = Sun Goddess of Good Fortune, Knowledge, and Wisdom

| symbol = sun disk

| norse_equivalent = Sól (Germanic mythology)

| venerated_in = Odinala

| ethnic_group = Igbo people

| equivalent1 = Inti

| equivalent1_type = Inca

}}

Anyanwu (anyaanwū, meaning "eye of the sun" in Igbo) is the sun goddess of the good fortune, knowledge, and wisdom in the traditional Igbo religion called Odinala. She is an alusi, a tutelary spirit that was created by the Supreme god, Chukwu, to fulfill a specific responsibility related to nature or a principle. They are similar to bisimbi in Bakongo religion and orishas in Yoruba religion.{{Cite news |last=Amadiegwu |first=Mildred |date=2004-08-06 |title=The power of the alusi |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/aug/06/1 |access-date=2023-06-16 |issn=0261-3077}}

Anyanwu is also the name given to a major character in the Octavia E. Butler's Patternist series.{{Cite web |title=Patternist Series |url=https://www.octaviabutler.com/patternist-series |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Octavia E. Butler |language=en-US}}

Anyanwu is also the name attributed to the "Spirit Face" (who is assertive) of Sunny Nwazue in Akata Witch and Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor.{{cite web|url=http://nnedi.com/books/akata.html|title=The Akata Books - Nnedi Okorafor|website=Nnedi.com|accessdate=2 April 2019}}