New Yam Festival of the Igbo

New Yam Festival of the Igbo (known as Orureshi in Idoma, or Ịwa jị LL-Q33578 (ibo)-Vivian Amalachukwu-Iwa ji.wav Listen no, Iri jị, Ike jị, or Otute, depending on dialect) is an annual cultural festival by the Igbo people, held at the end of the rainy season in early August. The Iri jị festival (literally 'new-yam eating') is practiced throughout West Africa (especially in Nigeria and Ghana)[1] and other African Countries and beyond. It symbolizes the conclusion of a harvest and the beginning of the next work cycle. The celebration is a cultural occasion tying individual Igbo communities together as essentially agrarian and dependent on yam. Quotes The festival is a sacred moment of thanksgiving and cultural reaffirmation. Oraifite Community Celebrates New Yam Festival, The Nigerian Voice, 2025. It is not just a feast of yam; it is a reaffirmation of identity, unity, and continuity. Oraifite Community Celebrates New Yam Festival, The Nigerian Voice, 2025. The festival is traditionally instituted… as a way of thanking God for a successful farming season. We use new yam festival to thank God for bumper harvest, The Sun Nigeria, 2017. The New Yam Festival… is a day of enjoyment after the cultivation season. Cultural splendour at Igbo New Yam Festival, The Nation, 2013. It marks the end of food scarcity… and the beginning of a new year. New yam festival marks end of famine, Vanguard, 2019. External links Category:Festivals Category:Igbo