What Iriji means
Iriji, the Igbo New Yam Festival, is one of the oldest and most widely kept celebrations in Igbo land. It gives thanks for the harvest and opens the new season of eating yam.
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Iri ji: to eat yam
The name comes from two Igbo words, iri, to eat, and ji, yam. Before the festival no new yam is eaten. The oldest man in the community, or the invited elder, offers prayers of thanks to Chukwu and to the ancestors, breaks the first yam, tastes it and shares it. Only then does the harvest belong to everyone.
Yam is not simply food. Growing it takes a full year of labour, and a good yam harvest has always been the measure of a careful farmer and a stable household. That is why yam is called the king of crops, and why the day of its release is treated with ceremony rather than casually.
The blessing is followed by celebration: drumming, dance, masquerade, new clothes, visiting, and food shared across families. Gratitude comes first, then joy.
Four things the festival carries
The same ceremony, a different city
Manchester has one of the largest Igbo populations in the north of England. Town unions, women's groups, youth groups and church communities all keep their own calendars, and Iriji is the day they meet as one. The ceremony is kept faithfully: elders, prayers, the blessing and sharing of yam. Around it sits a full festival day of cultural performance, traders, food and family activity.
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