The 2026 Things Fall Apart Festival
By Okey Ikechukwu The theme was “Named, Unnamed, Renamed: Power, Memory and the Architecture of Identity”. That is cryptic, almost parabolic, on its own. Then the organizers chose as title
The 2026 Things Fall Apart Festival was an event designed to bring the literary world to a resounding standstill. The theme was "Named, Unnamed, Renamed: Power, Memory and the Architecture of Identity". At the forefront of the event was the Keynote Address, titled "The Weight of a Name: Power, Memory and the Architecture of Identity". The title intrigued and posed questions about the significance and implications of names.
The speaker, diving deep into the topic, drew from St. Augustine's Confessions where he recalled learning his letters and names from observing older people naming objects around him. This sparked a debate among the audience, leaving them pondering whether the story of naming varied from person to person. Even philosophers, it was noted, often disagreed with the "pictorial conception" of language, which was first proposed by Augustine over a thousand years ago.
Names, the speaker argued, have weight. They can change and evolve with the individual, reflecting their transformation and growth. A name can symbolize ancestry, cultural or religious tradition, inheritance, or even the essence of the individual. The speaker shared a personal anecdote about his father's name, "Clement", which was defined by its mild and merciful nature. This resonated with the idea that names carry more than just mere labels, but also embody the essence of the person.
A name could also be a title earned, reflecting a new, richer version of oneself. This change often happened through a progressive shift, embedding the old name into a new individual. The speaker illustrated this with the example of ancient priests in spiritual traditions worldwide who changed their names as part of their spiritual progression. The weight of a name, therefore, was not solely in the name itself, but also in the authority it granted to stand as the reality embodied by the name.
The speaker concluded by discussing the Igbo cultural tradition and anthropology, focusing on the Ikenga, a sacred carved wooden figure representing the major achievements, proof of personal strength, industry, major titles, and much more of the person it belonged to. The right hand of the Ikenga was often seen wielding a machete, symbolizing power and authority.
The speaker drew parallels between the concept of a name and the Ikenga, highlighting how a name could outgrow its original form without being discarded, much like how a mango tree, born from a mango seed, represents a more developed form of the seed.
Written by urgent.news from This Day's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
