YOU MUST HAVE HEARD OF NEW "YAM"FESTIVAL!
The New Yam Festival is indeed a colourful event which is fast becoming a major tourist attraction. Visitors from far and wide have been thronging these communities to partake in the celebrations and also enjoy the rich cultural heritage of the Igbo people.(
Last August, the Ibagwa community in Enugu participated in the New Yam Festival celebration. Speaking with significance of the event, the community’s monarch, His Royal Highness, always submitted that the festival is a highly regarded traditional event in Igboland, but more importantly were its spiritual connotations. According to them , “the mystical nature of yam is that you sow the head in the ground but God will take that; it will die, and another will sprout and produce a yam in the size that only God determines the significance of the event, the community’s monarch, His Royal Highness, regarded traditional event in Igboland, but more importantly were its spiritual connotations. According to his highness, “the mystical nature of yam is that you sow the head in the ground but God will take that; it will die, and another will sprout and produce a yam in the size that only God determines.”
The feast is held once a year and is observed at a sacred spot. It is held in the sixth month after planting and in some parts is observed on an Nkwọ day only. It is held when the first new yams are available. The seed of which were planted in the first month of the year, in order to be ready in time for the ceremony, whereas the main crops is planted in the second month.
In the ceremony blessing is sought of the yam spirit. Kola nut is produced and standing in front of the “Alụsị” the petitioner appeals: “Eat this kola and help the yam in the small farms that, if the rain be too much, they may not drown , and if the rain be too strong, he may not cause them to whither.” !ll(
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The sacrificial offering varies little in different localities. The gift may consist of kola nut and a fowl, together with and new yams, the last being boiled. The petitioner says, “See this fowl which I have brought to you!” Afịa-ji Ọkụ na ọkụkụ m’wetalụ kam’nye i.” The throat of the fowl is slit and the blood sprinkled. The carcass is given to the children wherewith to make soup. He the petitioner goes on to say, “If I plant yam as small as this, when I dig it up, may it be so long as this, indicating with his hands and arms the sizes he has in mind. He prays that fever may not trouble him or his people and that all things may prosper in his hand.
That night, a feast is held of which men only partake, as they are responsible for the growing of the yam. In any case, women do not eat food that has been offered to a spirit. A month after, the people begin to dig up their yams.
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