New yam festival among the Igbos

New Yam (Ji ofuru/ohuru) festival among the people of southeastern Nigeria

New Yam Festival is peculiar to people of eastern Nigeria; it is called Leboku in some parts of Cross River State. Although other festivals like Osun-Oshogbo, Eyo, Argungu, Durbar etc. exist in Nigeria. The origin of yam (Dioscorea spp) in Igbo land is embedded in controversy.  There are scholars who believe that Yam was introduced to Igbo land while others believed that is independent. Beyond this controversy, yam holds a special place among the Igbos. It is regarded as chief of all crops and commands high respect. Yam cultivation is an exclusive male dominated affair, although there are some exceptional cases and changes in contemporary times.

The yam to be used in the celebration is roasted and cut or divided by the chief custodian of each community who is usually the Obi, Igwe or Eze (depending on the town). Where there is no Igwe, an Onowu (second in commander) or the eldest man in the community performs the duty. The festival falls between the month of July-October in different communities, while some communities extend theirs to November, given their peculiarities.

During the festival yam is prepared in the following forms: roasted, porridge, boiled, fried, and pounded. The spectacular ones being the roasted and pounded ones. The roasted one is eaten with red oil mixed with Ukpaka or ugba (Pentaclethra macrophylla), some people add castor bean (Ricinus communis L) Ogiri (grayish paste) made from castor bean, Utazi leaf (Gangronema latifolium Benth.), salt is added to taste. The pounded yam is eaten with Nsala soup made with either dried fish popular called Mangala, or chicken, and ‘fresh fish’ usually catfish (Siluriformes), tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus or Oreochromis aureus); while some individuals prefer the pounded yam with Egwusi soup. Alcoholic drinks of all types are consumed during the festival but preference for the local wine, palm wine (Nkwu ocha) is common.

It is worthy to mention here that in some towns or villages, people are rewarded with titles such as Ezeji or Uduji (King of Yam). This title is conferred on individuals with the highest yield in yam. In some cases, the yam barn of people is inspected to ascertain individual with highest yam yield. This type of title taking instills

Masquerade interacting with people during the new yam festival

the spirit of competition among individuals who try to put more effort in his farming business to have more harvest in the coming. This more harvest means more food in his household and enough to sell.

New yam festival is a time of thanksgiving celebration to God or gods (depending on individual belief system) for a bountiful harvest. This celebration is heralded with songs, masquerades, dances, cannon shooting and other forms of cultural display. Friends and well-wishers are invited to participate in the event. In recent times people not only travel for the new yam celebration, rather some use it to attend to family (Umunna) meetings, discuss issues that will bring development to the town, and planning for the coming of Christmas which is another big celebration that marks the end of the year.

Cultural festivals and celebrations such as new yam festival can boost the economy of rural dwellers and reinvigorate people’s interest in them. Youths mingle freely during this celebration and relationships are formed which can lead to marriage, while some business ideas and partnerships are developed.

ISSUES

The advent of Christianity, modernity, and rural-urban migration has affected new Yam festival celebration in Igboland. Some people do not hold the sacredness of yam any longer, while in some cases the traditional flavor of the festival such as masquerade display has been banned. What is the way out?

A traditional cutting the new yam

                                                          Source: http://www.nacd.gov.ng.