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| Photo credit: Google |
By:OLUMIDE Esther BISOLA
Ovim is located in the south east of Nigeria. In Igbo land, the new yam festival is called iri ji, iwa ji or ike ji. Ike ji is an annual festival in Ovim. It is very symbolic a it marks the end of the cultivation season. A time for families to give thanks to their gods or deities for seeing them through the planting season and making their harvest very bountiful.
Yam in Ovim is perceived as the king of all crops. Yam is highly revered, for instance, it is forbidden for anyone to kick a tuber of Yam with his or her foot. It is also a taboo for any son or daughter of Ovim, home or abroad, to eat any meal made of new yam before the ike ji festival. As a child, I and my siblings always look forward to the first day the new yam will be cooked in our family. Such meals are a prfull-grown special ways - mostly made with full-grown chicken. Different communities in Igbo land have their different ways of celebrating e new colorful. n Ovim the festival is very colourful, it is full of of fanfares. Weeks before the D day, the young maidens gather every night to learn new dancing steps that would be displayed on the celebration day.
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On the day of the ceremony, the village head or the traditional prime minister thank the gods and carryout some traditional rites and which he would slice a piece of roasted yam, soak it in palm oil. He will drop some for the gods first, then eat and declare the occasion open.
For me, the highlight of the occasion is watching the young maidens in their colourful "judge wrappers" on their waist and chest. Bids and ornaments decorating their necks, wrists and ankles dance to the pleasure of all spectators.
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Aside the fanfare and all the entertainments, the yam festival also serve as a means of bringing the people of Ovim together to discuss matters that affect the development of the community. For example Augusheld in the month of August during the new yam festival.
Edited by : Adebayo Nurudeen
Published by: Mondiu Sherifat Oluwaseun