Chief Joseph Ezugworie, the Onyishi Isu Village and Attama Taz Edem Community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State will on September 14, 2024, perform the traditional new yam ceremony by having a foretaste of the new yam in the community. In this interview with CELESTINE AMOKE, he speaks on the significance of the event and other sundry issues. Excerpts:
Whatistheessenceofnewyamfestivalin Igboland?
Let me start by saying that in Igbo custom and tradition New Yam festival or Iri Ji is a very important one and is very common wherever Ndigbo are. In Igboland, yam is regarded as the king of crops and so a lot of values are attached to it. Yam is a crop of inestimable value. As an agrarian society, yam is given a pride of place in the scheme of things. Yam is used to celebrate important feasts, celebrate important occasions such as marriage ceremonies and title taking; to show hospitality to important personalities and as a sacred commodity to make sacrifices to the gods. A man who has yams in abundance in bans and has performed ceremonies of feeding a multitude of people could be given titles such as Osuji; Oshuelu, Osuma Onyi, among others. They would beat a hollowed wooden drum (Ushue) for him to dance. He is no longer to be called by name like the ordinary mortals but through ushe. The number of yams a man has is an indicator of how wealthy he is. These are the honours accorded to a man in terms of his achievement in farming.
TellussomethingabouttheSaturdayevent, your iriji ceremony.
As custom demands, the Onyishi Isu and Attama Taz Edem are the first to eat the new yam every year before the rest of the indigenes eat theirs the following day. In essence, the Iri Ji Ceremony I am going to perform on Saturday is to usher in the eating of new yam in the Edem community. No one has the right to eat new yam before Attama Taz eats. In fact, it is a taboo to do so, of which the culprit will have the gods to contend with as it was in the past.
The iri ji is an established tradition by our forebears to honour Taz Edem, as the father of Edem people, for the numerous wars he waged and won against their enemies.
For the victories and protection, he was respected as the father of the community and given the honour of eating new yam before others. When Taz died, the oldest man (Onyishi) in Isu village automatically becomes the Attama Taz. He would be given a staff of office to know whether the person is qualified to hold the office. If the person’s hands are not clean; if he soils his hands or desecrates the land he would not survive beyond seven market weeks. But if he survives, he would be crowned Attama Taz. It is a position of inheritance. If one becomes the eldest man, one takes the title of Onyishi Isu by which one becomes the eldest in Ugwu na Agbo. That implies that though many people in Ugwu na Agbo are my seniors in age, I become the eldest by virtue of my being Attama Taz.
Itissaidthatcultureisdynamic; hasanything changedfromthewayAttamaTazeatsnew yaminthepast?
In the olden days, the popularity of the Iri Ji like the one I am going to celebrate on Saturday, September 14, was not as elaborate. The custom is that Attama Taz is the first to taste new yam at a scheduled date before any other person eats the following day. However, this year as was last year, I have invited many people, organisations and groups to join me in the ceremony of eating new yam on Saturday. The following day, the rest of the community will eat their own new yam. I have reviewed the tradition by inviting others to join me in the celebration. It is a new phenomenon. That day there would be roasted yam, pounded yam, palm wine and assorted drinks, music and dance. Every group that comes must eat yam one way or the other. There would be no sacrifice.
Overall, I am using the occasion to thank God Almighty for safeguarding the lives of our people, for granting us bumper harvest and for the divine sustenance. I am also using the occasion of the Iri Ji to thank God Almighty for elevating Edem during my tenure, especially for the promotion of Edem son, Igwe Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu, Igwe Edem Ani, by making him Igwe of Igwes of Ndi Edem, Igwe of Igwes of Nsukka, Igwe of Igwes of Enugu State and Igwe of Igwes of the whole South East states. It is a thing of joy and worthy of thanking God for promoting Edem indigenes to such an exalted position.
