The New Yam Festival...
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.
I hope a festival like this never goes away, even if it's not too crowded, but the tradition doesn't go away, Thank you for sharing
The tradition has stood the test of time, and although most young people are not too interested anymore, it will still be celebrated by those that value tradition.
Thank you for reading...
Iri Ji is an absolute top class festival
Very Goated
Nice to see
One of the best in the country so far...
Thank you for reading, I am glad you enjoyed it.
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Beautifully written dear.
The new yam celebration is always enjoyable and very much loved.
I am happy to see that it is a truly popular feast.
Ver enjoyable indeed.
Thank you for reading.
Very good.
I would also come there if I could to see a community celebrating the festival.
And I'm still a little curious about "Yam"...🤔🤔
You are always welcome, brother. We would be glad to have you.
Yam?
You've not heard of it?
I do not understand...
Yeah...
Yam is something new for me, in your guys picture, i see "Yam" is like cassava. But I don't want to guess at random, because I might be wrong.
They are actually in the same family.
We have yam, cassava, cocoyam, potatoes etc...
They are all tubers but are of different species.
Ohh ok. I see...
I know this is a very famous festival in your country, I've seen this in the summary of world festivals broadcast on television stations in my country.
extraordinary
Yeah, people come from far and near to enjoy it.
Extraordinary indeed.
Thank you for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
You'r welcome sir
I love new yam festival 😁, it is an interesting and fun festival to attend. You get to eat lots of yam prepared in different ways 😜.
I too like food jor lol
Thanks for sharing ☺️
Different ways indeed.
Even the ways you have never heard of will be seen there.
Just mad😋
Thank you for reading, I am glad you enjoyed it.
You're welcome
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Nice explanation about New yam festival 🎎
Really loveing the way you explained.
Truly brilliant post 📯
Thank you brother, this is a festival I love, I guess that is why it is so.
I am glad you enjoyed reading it.
Yam festival is one of the most common festival among all tribes in Nigeria, and I love ours as well.
One can never have enough of it.
Especially when it goes on for more than one day...
Thank you for reading.
This is more detailed, I just wrote a few things I know about the festival although, I'm not from the Igbo tribe.
Thanks for sharing, I can say that I've gained more knowledge about it.
I am glad.
What matters is that you do know some things.😁
Thank you for reading.
Wow, the Iriji Mbaise festival is the best, I just found another brother on hive learners.
This is great... Nice to meet you as well.
Thank you for reading, I am glad you enjoyed the post.
I've heard of this yam festival allot, even watched it on movies too and it will be awesome to partake of it ... I can bet
Yam is indeed beneficial to the health, I've sighted in one of my posts actually... Love it with oil beans, or pounded with Mellon soup😁😁
You sabi better thing😂
Yam is indeed beneficial to our health and goes a long way in body building.
The festival is really interesting and full of delicious food.
Thank you for reading, I am glad you enjoyed the post.
The one thing I love about this new yam festival in Igbo land is the roasted yam with new red oil, it can be more than yummy 😋
I enjoyed reading your article.
This traditional cultural event of yours fascinates me because our country also has a traditional culture which is celebrated during the new harvest so I read this post of yours very carefully and I like it very much and I want to share your opinion with you. Thank you very much
Personally, I think yam has a pretty bland taste.
I know that some people enjoy yam and consider it to have a uniquely exquisite taste.
My Sister is definitely one of them.
if I ever attended this festival, I might just drink coke and lick the soup...😃
Wow 😳😳! This lovely, I think you will have to tell us about Yorubas festival cultural too.
This festival is a very famous one heard of it a lot and see movies talk about it.
So all of yams must be eaten or thrown away because now it new yam era..i love this.
New era new yam sounds interesting.
I wouldn't mind the one week celebration..lol I like having fun.
The new yam Festival is unique to every culture and heritage.
Thanks for sharing