By Bashir Adefaka

The Achalla community in Anambra State wore a new look,recently, when very eminent people from across the eastern state thronged the Awka North Local Government headquarters to celebrate this year’s Ewaji, new yam festival.

Achalla, a kingdom ruled by the Uthoko Na Eze and a paramount ruler, Igwe Ezeoba Alex Nwokedi is one of the communities that observe the new yam festival.

Ewaji is a very big annual event that people of the kingdom have set aside as a forum for rekindling peace, unity and charting the way forward for the community and this year’s celebration of it was not an exception.  The king’s own day of the weeklong event to celebrate was the grand finale, held in the at the event arena of the 200-year Uthoko palace, on  Thursday October 3.

Very early in the morning, the community was already agog as youths held a massive demonstration to herald the new yam festival. There were different kinds of masquerades like the Isaka (the like of Lagos Igunu ko); Jele, Oganachi and others moving round the community.

Yam is eaten by people in most communities anytime of the year. But to the  Achalla people, before the eating of new yam begins, there is a procedure.  The procedure comes in form of Ewaji.

Explaining how the yam festival is celebrated, a palace staff said Oganachi masquerade is usually the first to come out four days to the king’s yam festival calling on the people of Achalla and the eight sub-communities under it that it was time for people to begin to eat yam.

“Oganachi took place four days before Igwe festival that is taking place today. It happened in a big way calling on Achalla people that they can now eat new yam. After that title holders alive, called Ozo-dindu, do their own festival and the dead title holders (the Ozo-nwulaun) do their own the next day”, he said. “After the king’s yam festival, people kill goats for their respective dead fathers and mothers who were title holders but are dead. It is a must for everybody to do so. This is a general sacrifice that every affected person does and it is followed by another event when all men go and buy Ogodi-Igbaoku (gifts) for their wives showing appreciation to them for taking good care of them (husbands) during the planting season”.

After the preliminaries, the main occasion, which is the celebration of the king’s yam festival, took off with roasted yam meal served with vegetable soup. All occupants of and visitors to the palace were served no other food than the meal. Thereafter, cows were slaughtered to prepare pounded yam served in the afternoon.

On ground to receive homages was the king, Igwe Nwokedi, assisted by his heir, Mr. Akan Nwokedi, a lawyer and senior red cap members of his cabinet.

It was a day packed with all sorts of amusements, cultural performances ,  masquerade dance,  offerings of yam by titled chiefs, here four tubers each by each title chief and any amount by non-title members of the community. Many of them, in addition, came with rams, others wine and others, money.

In the last leg of the festivity, different masquerades came to the arena each at one time. They  danced and traditionally the king would come down from his high seat to share in the dance and give them money.

The event was attended by Governor Peter Obi represented by the Anambra State’s Secretary to the Govenment, Mr. Henry Osieloka Obaze, among others.