Hello everyone, how are you doing on this beautiful day? It is truly a beautiful day to be alive and I am glad to be in it.
My post today will be based on the first topic of the week which is “A CULTURAL FESTIVAL”.
I am an Igbo Nigerian, and while I was born and brought up in Lagos State, I also got to school in Igbo land. I know a slew of cultural festivals of both the Yorubas and the Igbos. But I will be talking about one that is being observed by the Igbos. And that is the New Yam Festival.
In the Igbo language, it is called Iri Ji, which translates to Eating New Yam. It is celebrated at the end of the rainy season, during the early days of August or thereabout. Basically, it is just a celebration of the ending of a harvest and the beginning of another work cycle.
This festival brings Igbo communities together, people will come from far and near when they hear that a particular community is celebrating their own. Because right from time, before the advent of technology and the likes, we were all heavily dependent on agrarian produce and chief of them was Yam.
Usually, yam is among the first crops that will be planted at the start of a new season. The festival depicts just how prominent yam is in the socio-cultural life of the Igbo people. In the olden days, before money was invented, a man’s wealth was measured by how many tubers of yam he had. People took pride then in how big their barns were to keep this yam. And also how many farmlands they had to keep growing them.
By the eve of the festival, all old yams from the previous s eaten must be eaten or thrown away. Because when the festival begins proper, only New Yams will be dished. This will show just how abundant and plentiful the produce is.
Different communities have different methods of celebrating this event, but the majority have the same components that make the event what it is. In some communities, it can be just one day of celebration. And in others, we can have up to a week of celebration. There will be different forms of entertainment, cultural dances, and probably a rite will be performed by the Igwe (Igbo word for King). We will also have masquerade dances and fashion parades, it is usually a lot of fun.
And till today, it is still being celebrated, although not as flamboyant as before. Now that we have fewer farmers, we have fewer people that are invested in agricultural products and subsequently want to celebrate the event. But they are still being observed, at its time of the year, people will still come out in mass and have the time of their lives.
Yam is truly a delicious food, it can be had in various ways like boiling, frying, roasting, porridge, and a whole lot of others. And don’t even get me started on its health benefits. That will require a completely new post. If you are yet to taste yam, I suggest you do it as soon as you can.
Thank you for reading, till we meet in the next post.