New Yam Festival

The New Yam festival is celebrated annually in August. The festival symbolizes the end of a season of work and the beginning of a new season. Friends and family congregate to feast on meals of yams and there are displays of cultural dances. Once the festival is over old yams are thrown away as it is believed that the new cycle should begin with a fresh start.

At the beginning of the festival yams are offered to the gods and ancestors to thank them for a good harvest and to ensure a good harvest the following season. The elders performs the ritual and eat the first yam to show their important position.