Igbo Celebrations & Festivities By Avery Bishop, Ethan Derome, Erick Arcos, and Genard Abrigo
Mrs. Reilly // 3rd Period // Honors Communication Arts 10
🔘 Types of Festivals and Holidays
🔘 Pre and Post Colonial Festivals
🔘 Signifance of Festivals to Igbo Community
Yam Festival ~ Rainy Season 🔘
Week of Peace ~ Prior to Harvest Season 🔘
Masquerade Traditions 🔘
🔘 Nigerian Independance (October 1)
🔘 New Years (January 1)
🔘 Christmas (December 24-26)
🔘 Easter (March-April)
FACTS:
Celebrated to signify the end and the beginning of the harvest/farming season
Honors the Earth Goddess Ala and ancestral spirits of the clan
Yams are referred to as "The King of the Crops" to the Igbo people
Produces 71% of total production of yams in the world
Yams = Most important crop in Nigeria
Pre colonialism:
Celebrated in a 2-day span:
First Day = Altar creation for honoring ancestors/gods
Second Day = Yam Feast
![](images/019D3F1A-BDC4-4112-9D3C-9319CB8F0FE7.png?asset_id=EBA18A3B-B874-4B2F-8AEB-BD952AF0B71E&size=1024)
Disclaimer: This is not a representation of an Igbo execution. These people are clearly not Igbo.
Post coloNialism:
Similar to Thanksgiving
Minimal attention toward earth goddess due to new Christian religion
Ancestors still honored; 2-day format still celebrated
A yam stolen means a life ban from the tribe
![](images/6F4E227C-1E84-4EE2-A87C-9D6022986C30.jpg?size=800)
Sacred week celebrated prior to rainy season 🔘
No physical violence, abuse, or offensive language on others 🔘
Families often spend time restoring peace through meditation 🔘
🔘 Before Nigeria got colonized: No violence during the sacred week (See Things Fall Apart)
🔘 After Nigeria got colonized: Sacred week was celebrated same way... But violence is less acceptable now than before
Used in social gatherings, burial rituals, and other festivities 🔘
Men dressed in colorful robes and strange masks 🔘
Costumes represented spiritual elements, deities, and sometimes dead relatives 🔘
🔘 Used to maintain peace and order
🔘 Community would sing and dance while masquerades would expose them on their bad habits or crimes
🔘 Identity of masquerades were secret and strictly male
Masquerades are mainly used for cultural entertainment 🔘
Used more frequently for tourist attractions 🔘
Symbolizes spirits of the deceased 🔘
🔘 Types of Holidays
🔘 Facts and Signifance
🔘 Effects of Igbo Culture Before and After Colonization