• Great Friends hold new yam festival amid pomp and ceremony in Lagos
By Henry Umahi
In his famous novel, Things Fall Apart, which was aimed at preserving the cultural history of his people, Chinua Achebe described yam as the “king of all crops.”
Indeed, for the Igbo tribe of South East Nigeria, yam is a cherished and respected crop. So, over the years, the people have cultivated the culture of yam cultivation and preservation.
After the harvest of each season, the new yam is celebrated to thank God for bountiful harvests and to pray for good outing in the coming season. Put differently, the New Yam Festival is a yearly celebration that ushers in a new season.
The New Yam Festival, popularly known as Iwa ji, Iri ji or Ike ji, is an annual cultural festival by the Igbo. And without performing this festival as individuals or in groups, no Igbo man worth his salt eats the new yam.
Every community in Igboland holds the New Yam festival. Thereafter, individuals in their own way and within their means celebrate with family members and friends. With that, the eating of new yam begins.
Members of groups of like-minded people also organise New Yam Festival. When doing such, they invite friends and well-wishers to partake.
So, in keeping with the tradition, on Saturday, September 9, 2023, the Igbo in Lagos under the aegis of Great Friends organised a New Yam Festival amid fanfare.
At the event in Ejigbo, a variety of yam delicacies were presented to guests. Roasted yam was served with ugba or ukpaka (oil bean, known botanically as pentaclethra macrophylla) and palm oil. Porridge yam was also served with chicken. Of course, there was traditional music, serenading the guests. Many shuffled their feet to the rhythm.
The event started with the breaking of native kolanut by a respected elder, Mazi Boniface Ndukwe, who prayed fervently for God’s blessing and bountiful harvest in the coming season. Representatives of every Igbo State were given native kolanuts for onward transmission to their people.
The chairman of Great Friends Thrift Society, Mazi Cyril Okemuo, said the celebration was purely a traditional affair, not fetish but creedless. He said: “The New Yam Festival, also known as Iri ji or Iwa ji, holds immense importance in Igboland. It is a yearly festival that marks the commencement of the yam harvest season, which is the chief crop in Igboland. G-Friends Thrift Society members gathered here today with our friends and well-wishers to celebrate the foremost event in Igbo culture.
“The festival is a celebration of successful yam harvest, which is considered a significant agricultural achievement in Igbo culture. Yam is not just a staple food but also holds cultural and economic value within the Igbo race. The celebration also plays a vital role in preserving Igbo cultural heritage as it serves as a platform for the passing down of traditions, values and customs from one generation to another. Through various rituals, dances and performances, the festival showcases the rich cultural heritage of Ndi Igbo.
“The New Yam Festival is also a period for expressing thanksgiving to God and our ancestors for a bountiful harvest. It entails prayers, offerings, and sacrifices to ask for blessings for the forthcoming year’s farming season. The festival reinforces social ties and encourages unity among Ndigbo by bringing people together, irrespective of social status or age and promoting a sense of cooperation and friendship within Ndigbo.
“Yam holds economic significance in Igboland and the festival provides the opportunity for lucrative activities as it encourages farmers and traders to display and sell their farm produce, promoting business and trade within and outside Igboland.
“The New Yam Festival serves as a source of cultural identity and pride for Ndigbo. It strengthens a logic of identity and allows Ndigbo to make merry and display our cultural exceptionality to the broader world. It also strengthens the importance of our customs, traditions and values.
“Generally, Iri ji in Igboland is a commemoration of farming success, cultural perpetuation, thanksgiving, social structure, trade and industry, and cultural happiness. It exemplifies the fundamental principles and beliefs of Ndigbo, confirming the endurance and growth of our rich cultural legacy.”
The general secretary of Great Friends Thrift Society, Mr Maxwell Sebastine, said: “Iri ji or Iwa ji – New Yam Festival is an age long culture of Ndigbo; it’s a ritual they perform to thank their gods after a successful harvest every year. Yam being the chief crop and the most commercially valuable and staple food of the Igbo is thus used as the symbol of this festival.
“G-Friends Thrift Society is today joining millions of Igbo worldwide in promoting this culture. Ndigbo, all over the world, hold this cultural celebration at this period every year.
“G-Friends Thrift Society, a socio-economic organization, is today rolling out the drums to celebrate and to help promote this age old culture. We invited our friends, associates and well-wishers to join us in the quest to sustain our cultural values.”
The chairman of the organising committee, Bishop Chibueze Okonkwo, said the essence of the festival was to maintain what their forbearers have been doing.
“The New Yam Festival is a custom older than all of us. Ndigbo do not joke with it because it is part of blessings of the gods to us. It is done once in a year in order to pray to God almighty for a greater harvest of yams or other food items next year and for more blessings in general. In short, it is the tradition and custom of our people and he have to keep it alive,” Bishop said.
One of the participants, Chief Uche Kanu, the managing director and chief executive officer of UC Global, said it was a thing of pride and happiness to be in the midst of the promoters of Igbo culture. According to him, people without culture are like trees without roots.
Uche said: “When the invitation was extended to me, I told myself that I must be part of the festival, by God’s grace. And to the glory of God, I made it and words cannot adequately describe my feelings.
“New Yam Festival, which we, Ohafia people, call Ike ji, is an ancient tradition. It is as old as man. Apart from celebrating the goodness of God unto his children by way of bountiful harvest, it is also an opportunity to foster or cement relationships or create new ones.
“If I did not attend this event, I wouldn’t have met some people I have not seen in a long time. I have also made new friends.”
The former chairman of Great Friends, Chief Fidelis Okpoko, expressed gratitude to their friends and well-wishers who made it to the event. He assured that next year’s package would be bigger and better.
He said: “We will take it to the next level next year. There will be innovations and a touch of style.”
The master of ceremony, Mazi Ndubuisi Chimezie, cracked some ribs with his jokes.
Another defining moment of the event was that the rich Igbo traditional attire was showcased.
