The Yam Festival is a popular holiday in Ghana and Nigeria, usually held in the beginning of August at the end of the rainy season. It is named after yams, the most common food in many African countries. It is also known as "Ikeji" in Nigeria. In Nigeria, dancers wear masks that reflect the seasons or other aspects of nature.
Yams are the first crops of the season to be harvested. People offer yams to gods and ancestors before distributing them to the villagers to give thanks to the spirits above them.
Famous quotes containing the word festival:
“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the festival of unleavened bread, at the festival of weeks, and at the festival of booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed; all shall give as they are able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 16:16,17.