Ezza yam festival populally known as (oke aku)in ezza language,
Is an annual harvest festival by
the Igbo people held at the end
of the rainy season in early
August. (Oriri ji)
The oke aku Festival (literally
“new-yam eating”) is
practised throughout West
Africa (especially in Nigeria
and Ghana) and other African
countries and beyond, symbolizing the conclusion of a
harvest and the beginning of
the next work cycle.
The celebration is a very
culturally based occasion, tying
individual Igbo communities
together as essentially
dependent on
yam.
Yams are the first crop to be
harvested and are the most
important crop of the region.
The evening period to the day of
the festival, all old yams (from
the previous year’s crop) are consumed or discarded. The
next day, only dishes of yam
are served, as the festival is
symbolic of the abundance of
the produce.
Traditionally, the role of eating
the first yam is performed by
the oldest man in the
community or the king (igwe).
This man also offers the yams
to God, deities and ancestors. It is believed that the position
bestows the privilege of being
intermediaries between their
communities and the gods of
the land. The rituals are mean't
to express the gratitude of the communities to the gods for
making the harvest possible and to make their agricultural product come out aboundanly,
and they are widely followed
adespite more modern changes
due to the influence of
Christianity in the area.
The day is symbolic of
enjoyment after the
cultivation season, and the
plenty is shared with friends
and well-wishers. A variety of
festivities mark the eating of new yam. Folk dances,
masquerades, parades and
parties create an experience
that some participants
characterize as “art”; the
colourful festival is a spectacle of exhibited joy, thanks and
community display.

In recent times, the
celebration, which used to be
the greatest festival of the
year in all communities in
Igboland, ezza most epecially people that is their major fectival, Arise people of ezza let make our culture great.

Thanks