ANAM PEOPLE'S WEBSITE

A nam is usually flooded during the rainy season. During this period, the Ani symbol of authority is taken up so that water will not touch it. The annual flooding of the area is always seen as a natural disaster to the people in that both the crops livestock are always endangered in most cases it often leads to loss of life of both children and women, it also causes epidermic such as cholera etc that also leads to loss of life. During this flood menace children and other family treasures are taken up to the hills and platforms to avoid loss or damage, these little children live on these platforms at the mercy of the gods of the land who protects them from those rodents and wild animals. When the flood recedes, this symbol of authority is brought down and this is celebrated as a festival to thank God for protecting them through the hard times and difficult moments of the flood. This is based on the belief it is only the favoured by the ancestors that survives the difficult moments...

As you all very well know, I am not a lecturer and as such, this paper is not an Inaugural Lecture or a Seminar Paper. What I have tried to highlight in this address is to tell our young ones and friends here, what they ought to know concerning the Meaning and Significance of the yearly Otite Anam Festival. May I therefore crave the gracious indulgence of this august gathering to oblige me with the favour of your very esteemed audience. 1.        The Meaning of Otite This five-letter-word “Otite” in Anam is the synonym for “Iwa ji” ceremony elsewhere in Igboland which is popularly referred to as “The New Yam Festival”. The origin of Otite in Anam is as ancient as the evolution or fusion of the entity called Anam town or clan as some people may choose to call it. It is a yearly festival celebrated simultaneously in all the eight villages of Anam namely: Iyiorah, Mmiata, Oroma-Etiti, Umudora, Umuenwelum, Umueze, Umuikwu and Umuoba (i.e. going by ...

Anam is a town in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State in Nigeria and comprises of eight distinct communities: Iyiora, Mmiata, Oroma-Etiti, Umudora, Umuenwelum, Umueze, Umuikwu and Umuoba. Each of these communities can be made reference to in an independent manner with “Anam” as suffix, for example, “Umuikwu Anam”. There are also some parts of a couple of these communities that can be found in Anambra East L.G.A like the Umuoba Anam that is one of the three major communities that make up the town, Otuocha, which is the Headquarters of Anambra East L.G.A, with the other two being Aguleri and Umuleri. There is also a small part of Mmiata Anam referred to as “Mmiata Ovianwagbo” or Mmiata II attached to the Aguleri side of Otuocha. Anam can further be subdivided into Ezi-Anam and Ifite-Anam; the communities that make up Ezi-Anam include Oroma-Etiti, Umudora, Umuenwelum and Umuikwu while those of Ifite-Anam are Iyiora, Mmiata, Umueze and Umuoba. Anam is surrounded by water ...

How time flies. Otite Anam is here again. Otite-Anam, is the most well-regarded festival in Anam, Anambra State. Otite also known as IwaJi (New Yam festival) in Igboland is celebrated in August every year. Usually, the date for the celebration in Anam, Anambra West Local Government, Anambra State is fixed by Okpokolo the ruling age grade. The Okpokolo meet to examine the Igbo lunar calendar so as to ensure that it holds on the first Sunday that falls on the sacred market day of Eke. As we all know Eke is the chief of the four market days in Igboland.  This year, it would be celebrated on Sunday, August 5, 2012.   Apparently, Otite as the chief festival in Anam, involves lots of sharing, eating and drinking. It is a time to savour the best of nsala  egusi, and ogbono soups garnished with variety of fresh and dried fishes. The delicacy is to be eaten strictly with pounded yam as cooking any other type of food at this time is like sacrilege. It is a no go area. This yea...

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...