*THE MAIDEN ANAMBRA IRI-JI FESTIVAL*
_Our culture is an embodiment of who we are_ - Gov. Soludo
By Paul Nwosu
It was a grand panoply of culture and colours at Dr Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka on Saturday, October 21 during the celebration of the maiden Anambra Iri-Ji Festival. The New Yam Festival brought out the ennobling panache of Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo (CFR). The Royal Father of the Day, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, Obi of Onitsha was royalty in fine fettle.
Governor Soludo was impressive in his advocacy of a joint celebration of the New Yam Festival as an instrument of unity among Ndịgbo across the South-East. For Mr Governor, celebrating the festival in unison would show the world that the Igbo people have a wonderful culture dating back in time. He pointed out that it’s the first time every local government in the state came together to celebrate.
According to him, "Our culture is not just a dance display but a totality of who we are, how we dress, how we talk, and the terms of our core values. Our culture is an embodiment of who we are. It is a celebration of our hard work.”
The highly revered Agbogidi, Igwe Achebe, masterfully superintended over the traditional matters as communal masquerades and dancers lit up the atmosphere with acrobatic displays and sublime utterances. The Anambra cultural troupe was a delight in full flight.
The debut Iri-Ji Festival started out in the past many weeks with each of the 179 communities of Anambra State undertaking their preparatory festivals in readiness for the grand finale.
The New Yam Festival happens to be an age-long culture where songs and dances and masquerades are the order of the day. It's a season of merrymaking, the Igbo equivalent of Christmas.
In my Ogbaru tradition, it's a season when young men take a portion of their harvested produce to go and pay homage to the eldest (Okpala) in their kindred - and when the community does the same to the Igwe. It is a season of plenitude in terms of food and fish - in case of riverine people like us - when our people are in recreational mood and are happy. Special prayers are offered at this time for another prosperous farming season. It's a time when criminality and other forms of vices are at their lowest ebb because it'sbtime to be merry and felicitate with one another..
New yam festival in Igbo cosmology celebrates the significance of yam as the king of crops and the barn of yams as a mark of a wealthy man.
Anambra State Commissioner for Culture, Entertainment and Tourism, Don Onyenji, seemed to agreed with this when he stated that the Iri-Ji Festival is symbolic, as it marks the celebration of the harvest season and the place of yam as the king of all crops in Igbo land. The personable Commissioner said that Anambra has a rich cultural heritage, stressing: Anambra is peaceful and safe. In line with Governor Soludos agenda for reviving and promoting the Igbo cultural heritage, the Anambra Iri Ji Festival has come to stay. As a state, Anambra is selling the festival to the world as one major cultural event. All the traditional rulers in the state and the town union leadership and the 21 local councils are here on parade. This festival is all about love and sharing. All Anambra and non-Anambra citizens have come to bear witness.
It is noteworthy that Anambra States greatest gift to the literary world, Chinua Achebe, for whom Governor Soludo renamed the Anambra Airport recently, celebrated the superabundance of the New Yam Festival in his iconic novel Things Fall Apart thusly: The story was always told of a wealthy man who set before his guests a mound of foo-foo so high that those who sat on one side could not see what was happening on the other, and it was not until late in the evening that one of them saw for the first time his in-law who had arrived during the course of the meal and had fallen to on the opposite side. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food.
While we happily bask in the success of the maiden Anambra Iri-Ji Festival, our sights are set to making the New Yam Festival a joint ceremony among all the South-East States as advocated by Governor Soludo.
*SIR PAUL NWOSU*
Commissioner for Information
Anambra State.
More photos below.
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