ANAM PEOPLE'S WEBSITE

OTITE ANAM Igbo folklore is of the opinion that Yam was a gift from Chukwu – God Almighty to Eze Nri as reward for his solving the riddle of the Igbo market days. Yam, variously regarded as the king of crops or the symbol of wealth in Igbo cosmology occupies an enviable place in Igbo socio-cultural as well as economic life. Thus in the Anambra River basin areas, the highest title a man can aspire to take is Oba – Yam king. Indeed, so central is yam to Igbo socio-cultural life that almost all Igbo communities celebrate the new yam festival. In Anam, the new yam festival is called Otite and it is usually celebrated in the month of August every year. It is during the Otite that Anamites thank their Gods for granting them a bountiful harvest. Otite is usually fixed by the ruling age grade in Anam – Okpokolo and it is they who meet to examine the Igbo lunar calendar so as to ensure that Otite holds on the sacred market day of Eke.  Every titled man is expected to sacrif...