From Chi-ful to Mmadu-ful: Secular Alternative to Names among Igbos in Nigeria -By Leo Igwe

Are there alternatives to chi names among the Igbos? Of course there are. In an interview, a friend and I suggested a change and removal of chi in our names and a replacement with mmadu, meaning a human being or humanity. This friend, called Onyekachi, wants to be called Onyeka. I proposed to change from Chikezie to Mmadukezie. Interestingly, this suggestion has not gone down well with some friends and colleagues, especially my former classmates and associates, who are priests, quasi-priests, and theists.

After watching the video, some messaged or called to express their displeasure or approval.  I believe names are not sacrosanct, are they?  Names are not epithets cast on stones. People should be in a position to change their names. Names are often rooted in the ideas and experiences, faiths and philosophies of those who give them, usually parents and guardians.

Incidentally, Igbo names are Chi-laden and Chi-full. There is hardly any Igbo family where one would not find someone with a name prefixed or suffixed with chi- Chidiebube, Amarachi, Chiamaka, Ogechi, Okwuchi, Chiawa, Chibunna, etc. Meanwhile, not all Igbos subscribe to the Chi or god idea and outlook.

Some, as Onyeka noted in the interview, have argued that Chi does not necessarily mean god. Chi could mean one’s destiny, what makes a person a person. But the word Chi, a short form of chukwu or chineke, is largely used and understood as meaning God. To those who think that the idea of God is a myth, the chi name presents a problem; it suggests an outlook one rejects, doubts, or disagrees with. So it is pertinent to have alternatives, some humanist or naturalistic alternatives. Secular options are abundant.

People can decide to change their names from Uchechi to Uchemmadu, Ekechi to Ekemmadu, Ikechukwu to Ikemmadu, Chidi to Mmadudi, Chukwuma, or Chima to Mmaduma, Chiekezi to Mmaduekezi, Chikere to Mmadukere, Ogechi to Ogemmadu, Chigozie to Mmadugozie, Chinatu to Mmadunatu, Chimeziri to Mmadumeziri, Chijioke to Mmadujioke, Okechukwu to Okemmadu, Chika to Mmaduka, Ogechi to Ogemmadu, Ugochi to Ugommadu, Chikodi to Mmadukodi, Eberechi to Eberemmadu, Chimere to Mmadumere, Chinaegbo to Mmadunegbo, Oluchi to Olummadu, Chinedu to Mmadunedu, Chioma to Mmaduoma, Nwachukwu to Nwammadu, Odinakachi to Odinakammadu, Chidinma to Mmadudinma, Onyinyechi to Onyinyemmadu, Akachi to Akammadu, Chidera to Mmadudera, Chidiebere to Mmadudiebere, Chukwuebuka to Mmaduebuka, Toochi to Toommadu, Chibueze to Mmadubueze, Chinagorom to Mmdaunagorom, Ukachi to Ukammadu, Nkechi to Nkemmadu, Udochukwu to Udommadu, Tobechi to Tobemmadu etc.

Names prefixed or suffixed with mmadu provide secular alternatives to chi expressions that feature prominently in naming people in Igbo communities. Those who reject chi-ful names can consider or adopt mmadu-ful names. Meanwhile, the suggestion has elicited mixed reactions. A friend, Chidiegwu, who lives in the UK, messaged saying: “From today my name is Mmadụ dị égwu”. But another friend was unhappy with the proposed change. He stated:

“I listened through – trying to KNOW your colleague. I managed to avoid being discouraged by the lightheadedness with which he explains away the emptying-out of his BEAUTIFUL name. That superficiality shapes the definition of the HUMAN and Humanist you both embrace and propagate. I have repeatedly tried expressing to you my reservations about that – this dryness in the mouth, I feel, about all this: that HUMANIST RATIONALISM appears to be the new fetish tool of colonialist imperialism (already positioning for the new battlefield). Two connected thoughts reinforce this takeaway from the entertaining conversation: i) the nominalist foundation pillar of Western Modernity, which insists that terms, words, & concepts (and so, THINGS they name/signify) lack INHERENT meaningful value, ii) the resultant minimalist, wholly materialist, definition of the HUMAN and Humanist, and iii) the concluding positioning of the “material” HUMAN/Humanist at the core/center of the Cosmos, at a time when Particles Physics leave little or no doubt about wave-form spectrum at the core of THINGS. Besides these, we share analysis of the situation back home. I don’t share the identification and projection of Western modernity’s ideal world utopia. Remember the conversation on our class platform about HELL – how it is rooted in Cold but later transcribed as Fire. The world we live in today, birthed by Western Modernity’s Nominalist Humanisms, is HELL for all – in the West (infernal/invernal/wintery Hell) and in the Rest (fiery/hot Hell). All Is Burning”.

This person is unhappy because he believes names have deep meanings, and proposed changes indicate a shallow understanding of the substance and significance of names. But this person should try and ask: Who coined names? Who gave names their meanings? This person has forgotten that people must not bear names given to them. Another colleague messaged and called the suggestion, ‘kposhi kposhi’, which means a stupid and childish act. Whatever the case, people have the right to define and redefine themselves, to change their names to reflect their beliefs and outlooks.

Leo Igwe is a humanist and lives in Ibadan.