What The Nigerian Igbo Name "Chimamanda" Means (with information about & examples of other Nigerian Igbo names that include the "chi" element)

Official Flavour, Dec 3, 2017

Flavour presents the mind blowing visuals for his smash hit “Chimamanda," that was shot and directed in Enugu, Nigeria.
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As of Feb. 16, 2021 at 7:06 AM ET this YouTube video has a total of 13,084,487 views.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/08/igbo-names-that-reference-god-nigeria.html for a closely related 2016 pancocojams post entitled "Igbo Names That Refer To God" (Nigeria, West Africa)

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This pancocojams post showcases the official YouTube video of the 2017 Nigerian religious song "Chimamanda" by Flavour. 

This post also includes some of the discussion thread comments from that video that refer to the word and name "Chimamanda".

The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Flavour for his music. Thanks to all those who are associated with this showcased video and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THAT VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcckztwxdTY&ab_channel=OfficialFlavour

These comments are given in relative chronological order, based on their publishing date with the oldest comments given first, except for replies. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.  

2018

1. Anyesi
"Nice song; can someone tell me what the word Chimamanda mean please?"

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2. Angelica kweku
"My God will not  fall.

Kind of  saying,  my  God is very, very  reliable!!!

That's  why people  name  their children,  Chimamamda. Just to stress  that  they  have  a  reliable  God.May be they went or were going through  challenges  before or  around the  time that  child  was born and  survived the  challenges"

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4. JoStylin
"For the non-Igbo speakers, 'Chimamanda' is the Igbo word for 'my God will never fail'. In the ancient Igbo religion, there is what is called the 'Chi'. The word 'Chi' translates as your guardian angel or personal spirit.  For no human being walks alone on this Earth. The supreme God and creator (Chukwu) assigns one’s Chi before and at the time of birth, which remains with us for the rest of our lives on Earth. This is the reason why most Igbo names being with 'Chi' - Chimamanda, Chigozie, Chika, Chinedu etc. It is very important that whilst on this earth, you establish a deep rooted connection with your 'chi' (guardian angel), because it marks the begginning fo your spiritual journey. Your chi is the path to a more peaceful life and serves as the path to a deeper connection with Chukwu."

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4. Kelly Mir
"JoStylin Chi and chukwu is still the same thing, it doesn't matter weather it's chi or Chukwu...don't try to make it look like it's a different word and meaning"

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5. JoStylin
"@ Kelly Mir....That's your opinion which I respect. However, I get my knowledge from the great Igbo writer Chinua Achebe. According to him 'Chi' is a sub-deity functioning as a personal or spiritual God found within an individual or a guardian angel. Chukwu, on the other hand, is the supreme God and creator, the greatest of all the 'Chi'. The God above all other Gods and sub deities."

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6. JoStylin
"@iamempressfiresign... From my understanding, Throughout the song he names quite a few different people and anoints them saying 'god will never fail you'. TB Joshua was one of those he named. My Igbo is not 100% up to scratch so maybe someone else will correct me."

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7. Martez Uwa
"Your write up are good ,, but we all know that chi is God and that’s exactly what flavour meant , my name as well is Chinedu"

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8. Edmond Ikeh
"JoStylin explanation was excellent. You're also right that in common Igbo Chi is also a synonym to God. That does not take away the fact that chi is a guiding or guardian spirit and we all will agree that God is a spirit."

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9. Bernard Mumbi
"while i have learnt something and i like this language m Zambian but i like the lyric of igbo i want to learn from a proud nigerian like you Dear words like chinege,onyoma, ikukwa,ekukwee,dike, nyemechi,chinele,inemema,onafyoo,"

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10. Edmond Ikeh
"JoStylin explanation was excellent. You're also right that in common Igbo Chi is also a synonym to God. That does not take away the fact that chi is a guiding or guardian spirit and we all will agree that God is a spirit."

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11. Edmond Ikeh
"Bernard Mumbi if I can make proper inference, some of the Igbo words or phrases you're trying to learn could be perhaps in chinege you meant Chineke = God the Creator; onyoma you meant onyeoma = the good one; ikukwa I have no idea what you meant; ekukwee you meant Okukwe=faith; dike = great one or powerful one; nyemechi you meant onyemaechi = who knows tomorrow; chinele or chinelo =God the revealer; inemenma (I' na emenma) = you do good things; onafio' = it's buzzing or bustling (usually you hear the Igbo phrase O'gini nafio? meaning what's bustling? or what's going on?). It seems you listen to a lot of Igbo gospel songs, your word choice are commonly used in Igbo Gospel Music. I hope this helps."

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12. Edmond Ikeh
"That's about right. Another way to look at it is just like in English "god" refers to other deities while "God" refers to our heavenly father. chi in Igbo language and culture could refer to your personal assigned spirit at birth, other deities and could also refer to "God". However, for clear distinction we use Chineke = God the Creator. Chukwu ultimately refers to God the Creator alone and no other deity."

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13. JoStylin
"@Edmond ikeh..Thanks for the excellent explanation...I couldn't have explained it better. Most modern day Igbo people loosely or mistakingly use the word 'chi' to reference the supreme God. The reason for that is because they have accepted Christianity, so they have altered the ancient Igbo spirituality. However, in ancient Igbo spirituality 'Chi' was meant for the personal or spiritual God. The ancient Igbos believed that there was a 'god' or guardian angel found in every living thing, including the plants and trees. But there was only one supreme God, the creator of all living things know as 'Ch-ukwu' which translates to the 'Big-Chi'. And if we tap into our own individual 'chi' or spiritual God, we can find the path to the great God 'Chukwu' Chinua Achebe explains this very well in his book -'The Chinua Achebe Encyclopedia' "

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14. chuka chimah
"Excellent explanation, alot of people interchange Chi with Chukwu. But according to our culture everyone has his own Chi like you explained"

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15. African beauties
"dats similar to Christianity too, in Christianity its taught that every individual has a guardian Angel(chi) and their is only one God 

the Almighty (chukwu) that is very interesting."

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16. Mumu Momo
"JoStylin  I appreciate the time you have taken for this explanations.  The destruction of  Igbo cultural values by western colonialism can never be undone, especially with the  overflowing of commercial churches that are witch- hunting everything  traditional in Igboland."

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17.Mouha Mehawel
"JoStylin Is it a coincidence that "chi" means vital energy in Chinese Mandarin ? What do you think ? ^ ^"

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18. eze-anayoayor nke izizi
"My parents [n]ame chimezie, meaning God bless me,

My sister Name Chioma meaning good God..

Next sister Ugochi meaning glory of God.

Next sister ogochukwu meaning Gods gift.

Next sister chinenyenwa God is giver of child.

Next brother Chukwuebuka God is great.

Last brother Chibueze God is king.. hardly will see Igbo names without chi or Chukwu to show you our forefathers worshipped the true God   before the coming of White's,and they worshipped the God of creation called Chukwu okike abima"

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19. Yvonne Adoboje, 2019
"JoStylin wow, I am from South America (French Guyana), we have the same believe. I am from the tribe of Pamaka (my ancester change the name of there tribe to Pamaka).My dear your are soooo right. Thanks for the translation👌👌"

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20. hannah60000, 2019
"Many names also have 'Chukwu'. Many names can also have the 'Chi' replaced by 'chukwu'.

Ogechi or Ogechukwu

Uchehukwu or Uchechukwu

and so on.

When it comes to that my dad says it depends on where you're from in Igbo land (Nigerian Igbos that is). In English those names tend to have a similar translation."

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21. hannah60000, 2019
"+king chuks

Exactly, it almost has the same meaning in modern time usage."

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22. Ifeanyi Nwaneri, 2019
"You will be doing yourself a favour if you learn the differences. Chi and Chukwu are not the same thing."

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23. flying dove, 2019
"Edu, please don't argue about  it....Chi is different from Chukwu, Is just because some of us don't know much about it..She nailed it...I respect ur opinion though"

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24. Lazarus Uduma, 2019
"Mr Kelly u are wrong.. they are both different. While Chukwu is the creator of universe Chi is as describe by JoStylin"

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25. Marie Ly, 2019
"Thanks for the translate, i thought it was for chimamanda Edochi the author Americana."

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26. Thegamerteo05, 2019
"JoStylin i'm a Igbo Child My Igbo name is Chidubem"

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27. Elykia, 2019
"JoStylin I really understand you girl, I’m from Gabon but in our ancient religion too it’s the same, every human being has a guardian angel. They are all working for the Supreme God. They are a lot of small entities working to help human beings on earth and of course Christianity has erased it all. So sad"

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28.YoureverBeloved, 2019
"JoStylin, THANKS. You're very right in your reply to Kelly Mir. Your Chi can NEVER be referred to as Chukwu. Although Chukwu CAN be referred to as Chi,  (because He's an embodiment of ALL). Your Chi,  in our culture is YOUR personal Spirit or your personal guardian angel.

Maybe he should go ask an elder in the village, they'll explain it better to him.

I believe he's coming from the angle of directly interpreting the Igbo language to English, forgetting that these things have a deeper meaning than what we gloss above."

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29. Willow Adol, 2019
"Yes, Chinua meaning or wishing that your chi hears and answers/fulfils your wish."

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30. kabelo lemogang, 2019
JoStylin thank you so much.. I'm Motswana from Botswana... I love Nigeria so much... Anyway my new name is Chimamanda"

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31. BIAFRA IS GREAT Biafran, 2019
"Edmond Ikeh+++ Good  explanation. But the ancient name for the supreme God in Igbo 'Obasi' just like Ibibios call Him 'Abasi'."

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32. Nobukhosi Dlamini, 2019
"JoStylin thank u so mch,some of us didnt know dat.that so powerful am frm Zimbabwe bt I so mch luv Nigerians names.when I get married my babies name is gonna b Chimamanda am tellin u,God bless u"

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33. jcmadicko, 2019
"JoStylin thank you dear for this highly detailed explanation and education . Can you add more of the names starting with chi...and tell which ones are for Male and female"

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34. BIAFRA IS GREAT Biafran, 2019
"jcmadicko+++ Hahaha. And why do you like the names so  much? Let me try!

#Males

1.Chibundu (God is life)

2.Chidubem(God guides me)

3.Chibuzo(God is the way)

4.Chibunna(God is the father)

5.Chiemerie(Godwin)

6.Chibuikem(God is my strength)

7.Chimeremeze(God made me king); et,c.

 #Females

1. Chinyere(God has given)

2.Chinenye(God gives)

3.Chiamaka(God is good)

4.Chinaza(ekpere)(God answers(prayer))

#Unisex

1.Chimaobim(God knows my heart)

2.Chigoziem(God bless me)

3.Chinecherem(God thinks upon me)

4.Chidiebere(God is merciful)

5.Chika(God is greater than all)

Et,c."

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35. Angelica kweku, 2019
"JoStylin  BTW,  "chi" has bearing  with Igbo traditional  religion  and  mythology, Long before  European  invasion!"

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36. chiedozie ethelbert, 2019
"Chinua means God fights for me"

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37. Ikechukwu Ukwuma, 2020
"@JoStylin

I like you comments. You are right Chi in Odinani can refer to personal spirit (spirit that comes with humans at birth), can refer to God or gods (referencing the pantheon of spirits or group of spirits or gods) and it can also refer to light with respect to distinction between day and night (as used in chi efola or chi abuola - daybreak or dawn and chi ejiela - nightfall or dusk). In as much as Chukwu (Chi+ukwu literally meaning God+great or greatest) refers to Supreme God (God of all other Gods in the pantheon), we can also use Chi to reference the Supreme God. it is just like saying God and Almighty God in English, they mean the same thing depending on how you use them in your sentences. However, personal spirit is different from guardian angel. The Guardian Angel in Christianity or Catholicism  refers to an angel assigned to a person to guard and guide spiritually. Personal spirit is more like our spirits or souls.

Our souls or personal spirits look like us, we can imagine them exactly like us in the spirit realm. Now that I think of it, growing up as a catholic, I never imagined my guardian angel as black, I had always imagined "he" looked like Angel Micheal or Gabriel that all look white and male in paintings. By the way, do we have female Angels? Another difference worthy of note between Chukwu and other Chi is that Chukwu doesn't have a gender in Odinani, but other gods that connect us to Chineke or Ezechitoke abiama or Chukwuokike abiama (God the creator) have gender. For instance, Amadioha (God of thunder) is male in his veneration but Ana or Ani (Goddess of earth) is female in her veneration.

The Igbo religion (Odinani) is monotheistic but an inclusive monotheism considering that there are other Gods that connect smaller beings or chi (humans, animals and plants etc) to the supreme being or force or God. In Odinani, Chukwu is not venerated because humans do not consult Chukwu directly, but they connect to Chukwu through these other Gods in the pantheon. That's why there are shrines and statues of Ana and other Gods but none for Chukwu. This is also why Odinana is defined as panentheistic because Igbos believe that Chukwu is divine and pervades and interpenetrates every parts of the universe, in other words God is everywhere and present in everything."
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I reformatted this comment to increase its readability.

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38. Diri Alig, 2020
"@Kelly Mir before christianity it was a different meaning, different word. Chukwu and chi are two different beings and class of beings Chukwu was the supreme creator (there was only one of him) chi were more like guardian angels there were as meaning of them as there were people."

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39. Mbé Coulibaly, 2020
"Thanks a lot for these explanations. i don't understand the language but i really love Igbo songs. I have always felt deep inside me that there is a strong message behind this song. I am so happy and grateful to know now."

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40. Chi Orazu, 2020
"i dont know what u are saying ...the Chi in my name is not a guardian angel or personal spirit...when my parent called me that name, they were thinking of Jehovah, the one seated in heaven....so, this comment is wrong, speak for urself "

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41. Nneka Magdaline, 2020
"@Kelly Mir  If she's wrong, why do we answer 'Chiawųotu' in Igbo land? Have you heard this name before?"

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42. Nneka Magdaline, 2020
"@Kelly Mir Have you asked yourself why Chiukwu. Those guardian angels are called chi that's why Igbo people answer  Chiawųotu. Chi could mean Destiny"

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43. allison eriwa, 2020
"@iamempressfiresign he said their God will never fail(chiunuamanda) chimamanda( my God will never fail)

Chi gi Amanda (your God will not fail)"

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44. allison eriwa, 2020
"@Eva Gatwiri it's  Adichie which means reconciliation. Chimamanda Ngozi (blessing) Adichie"

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45. allison eriwa, 2020
"@Neville Dwayne   the full meaning is Chinuanumogu (God fight for me or God fight my battle for me. But if you cut it to 'Chinua' which means God fight)  Achebe. Ogu means fight"

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46. Patricia Lykes, 2020
"Thanks very much for the translation I was liking it very much when I didn't know what it meant now that I do I really love it and appreciate it I got a hint by really following the video so again thank you"

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47. chi chi a, 2021
"I really wish in Igbo land we can teach and preserve our language and history, it's so interesting. The difference between Chi and Chukwu is so sweet, if understood properly xx."

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48. Reyex7, 2021
"@Bernard Mumbi you got a list 😂

Chineke - The Creator

Ebubedike - One of Valor/Glory

Onyeoma - Good person

Onyemaechi - one who knows tomorrow"

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49. Sal Vahli, 2021
"I am Chinedu  and I lives in the states. I didn’t know the meaning of my name until I listen to this song and had to google to know the meaning of my name.  Aesthetic song! Proud Igbo!"

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50. Faith T Chivandire, 2021
"Amen chimamanda 🙏❤"

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