Magnus Eze, Enugu
Ojiji yam festival of Izzi people of Ebonyi State has been described as one of the most exciting and fulfilling celebrations in Africa.
Our tour guide, Omekannaya Orogwu, exposed Daily Sun to a yet-to-be-diluted culture in Ebonyi North Senatorial District, where the traditional ruler of Nkaleke Echara Unuhu community, Eze Sunday Oketa, at this yrear’s new yam festival, spoke extensively on the significance of the celebration and other aspects of Izzi culture.
As Izzi clan celebrates new yam festival, people would want to know what the Ojiji is all about.
In Izziland, Ojiji new yam festival is an important event in the life of the people of the area. It is the day we celebrate the arrival of the new yam. Ojiji is the best celebration of every Izzi man both at home and in diaspora; our people are known for their rich involvement in farming activities, we are the best producers of yam in the entire state. In the olden days, our forefathers engaged in yam farming as their chief occupation. The day is so significant that everyone from the area prays fervently to be alive just to witness the event yearly. It is one event that brings people together; neighbours, relatives and well-wishers exchange gifts, visits and share merriments in a very memorable manner on Ojiji Day. If you had observed very closely (referring to the reporter), you would have discovered that for about three days now, people have been going home from the market with a lot of goats, ram, fowls, cows etcetera depending on what each could afford financially, just for this celebration.
In a nutshell, Ojiji celebration is an expression that the outgoing year was favourable and rewarding; a year of bountiful harvest, an event that marks the beginning of a new year, a show of joy for the arrival of the new yam.
For the married women, Ojiji is a day to display cooking expertise; it is the day to prepare the best local soap known as Esusaa (beni-seed) which is the best soup for every Izzi person. The women make adequate preparations ahead of time on how best to prepare this special delicacy for their visitors and families and make arrangement to also send to their own parents as a mark of honour.
Formerly, an Izzi man didn’t eat any other food except yam. Today, whenever his daughter is given out for marriage, he will say,”oje alu ji”; translating to, she is going to marry yam. He won’t say, she is going to marry Mr Okeke or Okafor, but yam. That tells you the level of importance attached to yam as a crop by Izzi people. This informs you also why the day is celebrated with such joy and excitement. If I begin to enumerate the uniqueness of this event, the day won’t be enough. Ojiji Izzi is one celebration where the man is obligated customarily to send well-sized good number of yams and drinks to his in-laws. Some do send between 20 and 10 tubers of yam depending on the person’s affluence. And if he is unable to fulfil this cultural task to his in-laws due to financial insolvency, if the father is still living, he is customarily obligated to do so, on behalf of his son. So, in-laws are always very expectant on this day. That is why it’s mandatory for every son of the clan to come home during the celebration. If you watch since morning, I have not stepped out of my palace, but have been around receiving visitors who have been coming in turns to celebrate the day with us. As I said earlier, an Izzi man enjoys yam more than any other food. In fact, it’s as a result of development that other foods such as semovita and garri were introduced to the people. Such foods were completely alien to us prior to modern development. We are proudly farmers. Just check from tomorrow, you will see that our markets will be flooded with the new yams; the best yam you can think of is found here in Izzi land.
Does that mean that no Izzi man is allowed under your custom to harvest and eat yam before the Ojiji Day?
It’s a taboo and highly sacrilegious to do so in the entire land. It is even an abomination to touch it not to talk of eating it. An Izzi man will turn away his face if he mistakenly runs into a new yam before the Ojiji Day. He will assume he never saw one; that emphasizes the seriousness of this celebration to the people. We respect culture.
Are there special benefits derivable from this culture?
So many benefits; our forefathers who are no longer alive enjoy the day with us; they’re usually happy on this date that we are carrying on with the culture they bequeathed on us and as a result, whatever that is our problem receives their attention and solutions. That is why we honour them by keeping the culture alive. An IZZI man is proud to be addressed as one. Our culture is our pride and identify; an Izzi man is more interested in having a big barn of yam than money. You can see mine there (pointing at his barn) very big and large. By tomorrow, I will start harvesting my yam for consumption. We are proud of yam. I have a very big farm and so do my wives and children.
How old is the Ojiji festival?
I won’t tell you lie, no one can say precisely when this festival started. I think I will be right to say that it’s as old as man. It started when the clan came into existence, when God created the people. It is hereditary and passes from one generation to another. We inherited it from our forefathers and our children will inherit it from us.
How true is the belief that, under normal circumstance, no Izzi man dies on Ojiji Day?
That is absolutely very correct; if an Izzi person dies on Ojiji Day, we will conclude that he or she was a witch or wizard. We will believe that such person committed abomination and as such can never be buried. We will see him or her as having been rejected and killed by the gods of the land for evil deeds. What it means is that such a person has been involved in murdering souls and other abominable acts prohibited by the land. If you die on Ojiji Day, your image is tarnished. Nobody cries for such a wicked individual. He or she is thrown away as a refuse not minding the social status, financial strength or any other consideration. Such death is seen as shameful and a divine way of exposing evil people in the society.
A normal Izzi man dies before or after the Ojiji Day. Izzi culture is interesting and highly demanding; adherents must be free from every cultural profanity. “If I think evil against you, let it come back to me and vice versa”; that’s the basic rule. I assure you that if you adhere strictly to the stipulations of our culture, you will live long.
Do the Izzi come to a central place for the Ojiji Day celebrations?
Today’s event is celebrated at the family level. Each family celebrates within the house hold and can exchange visits and gifts with neighbours and relatives. But we have a particular day when all Izzi people converge at Amagu, the ancestral home of the Izzi for the grand finale. That’s the central venue where people gather for the celebration, there, the yam is cooked and eaten by all in attendance.
So, who fixes the date for the Ojiji Day celebration?
The man that fixes the date for Ojiji festival is always the oldest man in the clan. He is forbidden from drinking new (fresh) water prior to the celebration. He only drinks rain water stored from the previous year. He is not allowed by the custom to eat any new crop including corn and groundnut prior to the Ojiji Day. This is why he can command the tree to fall down and it will. He is the only one who communes with the gods of the land and communicates back to the people on when the festival is to be observed. He only drinks fresh water from the Ojiji Day; then the old one stored over the year is thrown away and a new one stored from that day. This he takes till the next Ojiji celebration. There is a place called Ojiji where he goes to commune with our ancestors. He goes there with just a wrapper, without a pants, trousers or shirt. Worthy of note is the fact that he must abstain from sexual intercourse within this period; he is to visit the area.
Are there other things you would want outsiders to know about Ojiji festival?
I just want to advise that people should come and learn from Izzi culture. It is rich; preaches peace and mutual coexistence. An Izzi man is sincere and reliable; and this informs why the Ebonyi State capital is located in Izzi land. We are hospitable and free minded people. That’s why in the olden days, we used cutlass to express severe anger against the use of gun and any other thing that could kill; though today, such expression of anger has gone with the introduction of western education.