Deborah Mboya

The New Yam Festival Deborah Mboya

There is a proverb in Iboland that says, "When the harvest season ends, it is the time of the year when everybody is at home." The Yam Festival has come to an end, and The New Yam Festival has begun. It is an extraordinary celebration of the harvest season, the culture, and oral traditions of the people who live in the village of Uwaoma. It is also an occasion for giving thanks to all the gods of the land for making the harvest possible. Achuwanike was the first yam farmer in his village to win a yam title at The Yam Festival. Now that the harvest season is over, he is in close communion with his family, relatives, neighbors, friends, and the spirits of the ancestors of the past, present, and future for the next harvest season.