When and where is the New Yam Festival celebrated?

The New Yam Festival popularly known as “Orureshi, Iwa ji, Iri ji, Ike ji, or Otute (depending on dialect) is an annual cultural festival by the Igbo people usually held at the end of the rainy season in early August to October every year.

What was the New Yam Festival and how was it celebrated?

The New Yam Festival, in the Ogidi community, is an important way of marking the beginning and end of the farming season. It is a celebration of life, accomplishments in the community, culture and well-being. Ogidi is a town currently located in the Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

How do people celebrate the New Yam Festival?

The joy of the New Yam Festival is celebrated with various cultural and community groups performing dances, songs, dramas and acrobatics. The New Yam Festival is a time of celebration and thanksgiving for most Nigerian communities, and the Ogidi Ijumu community is not an exception.

What happens at the feast of the new yam?

The village of Umuofia prepares for the Feast of the New Yam, which takes place just before the harvest. All yams left over from the old year must be thrown away, and everything used in preparing, cooking, and serving yams must be thoroughly washed before being used for the new crop.

Why do the Igbos celebrate New Yam Festival?

Typically, New Yam Festival provides a heritage of dances, feasting, renewal of kinship alliances, as well as marks the end of one agricultural season with a harvest to express gratitude and thanksgiving to the society, gods, friends and relations.

Why was the festival of the Feast of new yam celebrated?

Ịwa-ji ceremony After the prayer of thanksgiving to their god, they eat the first yam because It is believed that their position bestows the privilege of being intermediaries between their communities and the gods of the land.

Why do we celebrate yam festival?

Asogli Yam Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the people of Asogli in the Ho Municipality located in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is celebrated in September annually to celebrate the cultivation of yam that was started by a hunter who found the tuber in the forest during his hunting expedition.

What is the significance of the New Yam festival in things fall apart?

‘The Feast of the New Yam was approaching and Umuofia was in a festival mood. It was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani, the earth goddess and the source of all fertility. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other deity. She was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct.

Why are yams so important in Igbo culture?

After the prayer of thanksgiving to their god, they eat the first yam because It is believed that their position bestows the privilege of being intermediaries between their communities and the gods of the land.

What story is always told at the New Yam festival?

The story that is always told at the New Yam Festival is the story of a wealthy man who had so much foo-foo at his feast that the dinner guests couldn’t see anyone at the other side of the table until the food was eaten. This is an example of a legend because it is an exaggeration and has some truth to it.

Is the New Yam festival biblical?

In that way, the new yam festival is now taken, more or less as a Christian festival. The tradition has stuck in most communities, like at Urualla in Ideato, and other communities which now traditionally celebrate the new yam festival today, the August 15th.

Which tribe in Ghana celebrate the Yam Festival?