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The harvest of yam and the celebration of the gods of the land through the New Yam festival is an epitome of the people's religious belief in the supreme deity. The coming of the new moon in August marks the preparation for the great "Iri Ji Ohu" festival, but the time and mode of preparation differs from community to community. [9] [14]
[96] [97] [98] The second important Igbo festival, the New yam festival known as 'iwa ji', is held between August and October marking the harvesting and feasting of the new yam. The yam is a root vegetable that is the staple crop and a cultural symbol for the Igbo people.
The yam is very important to the Igbo as it is their staple crop. There are celebrations such as the New yam festival (Igbo: Iri Ji) which are held for the harvesting of the yam. [14] The New Yam festival (Igbo: Iri ji) is celebrated annually to secure a good harvest of the staple crop. The festival is practiced primarily in Nigeria and other ...
In Igboland, there are different festivities that are celebrated, but the most influential of all include the masquerade festival and the New Yam Festival. [1] Masquerades are revered as superior beings in Igbo culture.
Ofala Onitsha is the indigenous Ofala Festival held by indigenes of Onitsha, Nigeria. It is usually held in October and is the highpoint of the Onitsha ceremonial cycle. Although Ofala Festival is common to many Igbo tribes, Onitsha Ofala is rather unique since it is believed to be the first Ofala in the Igbo tribe. [4]
All these culminates in the annual celebration of the Ogidi new yam festival. [44] According to the people of Ogidi, new yam festival is celebrated to offer thanksgiving to God who gives increase and yield. It is celebrated in conjunction with the ogidi-Ela day which is the land's cultural day, which starts few days to the festival week.
Igbo religion is most present today in harvest ceremonies such as new yam festival (ị́wá jí) and masquerading traditions such as mmanwụ and Ekpe. Remnants of Igbo religious rites spread among African descendants in the Caribbean and North America in era of the Atlantic slave trade.
The Mbajekwe festival ushers in the Ili Ji Ofuu (New Yam Festival), is celebrated in August–September. There are other feasts in between that are celebrated by the villages that make up Umuoji town. The majority of the people had historically been subsistence farmers but now are in all fields of human endeavor. [20]