New yam festivals, celebrated annually by many communities in the South Eastern part of Nigeria and beyond have over the years remained a rallying point and a unifying factor among various communities in Igbo land. As one of the most prominent platforms for the enactment and actualization of socio-cultural ideals, the new yam festival has continued to enjoy tremendous popularity because it often attracts people from far and wide.
In most traditional societies, new yam festival is often celebrated with pomp and pageantry as most of the farmers use it as an avenue to show their appreciation to God for his kindness, protection and love and the general agrarian success recorded during the year. Farmers, who had bumper harvests often make handsome sacrifice and pour libations to the Almighty God for giving strength and prosperity to mankind through the instrumentality of the hoe and machete.
The new yam festival is a historic event and epochal moment of get-together, happiness, enjoyment and overall reflection on family performance, challenges and proposal. Many people especially the titled men, defenders and protagonist of cultural norms and values, do not eat the new the new yam until the new yam festival is held.
Some communities in Igbo land even use the new yam festival to ascertain the advancement of agriculture in their communities, the major problems facing farmers and how best to ensure food security in the future. Today, the uniqueness of the new yam festival has assumed a more elaborate and transcendental dimension. Now, many see it as an avenue to showcase their cultural potentials. That is why events like masquerade displays, traditional wrestling, cultural dances and title-taking, are usually held in most communities to mark the occasion.
However, the festival has provided a strong platform for fund raising and other development oriented projects. In some areas, for instance, launching are held for the building of town halls, renovation and rehabilitation of public places, health centers, rural roads, markets, provision and maintenance of community security and vigilante groups. This is because that is the time when many who had returned from urban areas and beyond for the festival are usually seen in large number.
No doubt, Ndi Igbo cherish the new yam festival as a moment of re-union and demonstration of oneness among various communities. Elders and age grades often take advantage of the moment to reconcile warring groups, listen to genuine complaints, handle cases and petitions of volatile nature as well as punish those who were found guilty of crimes as the case may be. One thing very remarkable about new yam festival is that any action taken must be in the spirit of corporate existence and in accordance with the demands of tradition.
While the new yam festival is a potent barometer and credible yardstick for the measurement of the social and cultural legacies in most Igbo traditional societies, it is hoped that this festivity should be fine-tuned to reflect the aspirations of the contemporary Igbo nation without losing its traditional substances and irresistible developmental ideals to the intimidating and overbearing influences of modern civilization. Conclusively, new yam festival should be used a veritable tool to bring peace, progress, development and entertainment to all Igbo communities.
Written by BENJAMIN OBINUGWU
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