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How is the new yam festival celebrated in Igbo land?
The festival is done at the community level first. In turn, individuals in their own way and capacity celebrate with members of families and friends, thereby kicking off the eating of new yam in these families that participated in the community ceremony, whether they have money to celebrate with the others or not.
How is yam festival celebrated?
Traditions. The first offering of the crop is made to the ancestral gods by the chief priest of the Ashanti; the religious rite includes taking the yams on the second day of the festival in a procession to the ancestral ground. Music and dance are part of the festivities on all the five days.
What day is the Yam Festival?
August 15
Each year on August 15, Benin celebrates the Yam Festival. The event marks the harvest period and draws thousands of Beninois and tourists to Savalou, the city of the Gbaguidi royal family. Savalou is widely known as the cultural and geographic center of yam cultivation.
What is the feast of the New Yam in things fall apart?
The Feast of the New Yam was held every year before the harvest began, to honour the earth goddess and the ancestral spirits of the clan. New yams could not be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers.
Why are yams so important to the Igbo?
This is why the Igbo people refer to yam as “the king of crops” and August and September are a time for traditional dances, drumming, masquerades and dressing up in village squares.
What is the symbol of New Yam Festival in Nigeria?
Celebrated by almost every ethnic group in Nigeria, the New Yam Festival is observed annually at the end of June. It is considered taboo to eat the new yam before this festival. The high priest sacrifices a goat and pours its blood over a symbol representing the god of the harvest.
How many days is the New Yam Festival?
It takes place over two days and consists of purification rites, presentation rites, divining rites, and thanksgiving rites. In one divination rite, a recently harvested yam is divided into two parts.
What is the feast of the New Yam and why is it important in things fall apart?
How does Okonkwo feel about the feast of the New Yam?
Just before the harvest, the village holds the Feast of the New Yam to give thanks to the earth goddess, Ani. Okonkwo doesn’t really care for feasts because he considers them times of idleness.
Who celebrates the New Yam Festival?
The Yoruba people celebrate the New Yam Festival, known to them as Eje, for two days around the time of the harvest. They fast, give thanks for the harvest, and carry out special DIVINATION RITES to determine the fate of the community, and particularly its crops, in the coming year.
How did Okonkwo feel about the New Yam Festival?