2022 Iwaji Ceremony Of Mbaocha People Umuahia North LGA

By Benjamin Kalu, Umuahia.
The poeple of Mbaocha Ndume Ibeku in Umuahia North LGA in Abia State, last week celebrated their 2022. The Iwaji Ceremony, featured their cultural dances.
Chatting with the Journalists during the ceremony, the Eze Elect of the Community, which comprises, of Ohokobe, Umuafai, Umuezeala and Umuohu, the Eze elect, Rexford Ohaeri said that the Mbaocha Autonomous Community decided to join other well meaning communities in Ibeku land, to celebrate the Iwaji Ceremony.
He described the Iwaji ceremony as the long standing and age long tradition of the people, and noted that Mbaocha community is a subset and intergral part of Ibeku Ancient kingdom.
Eze Ohaeri stressing that since the Igbos are agrarian in nature, during the harvest of their crops and before entering into the new farming season there is a ceremony, they normally performed accordingly, including the new yam ceremony.
The Royal father, also disclosed that the reason, why Igbos celebrate yam, is because, the yam is the king of crops, and that is why, is being celebrated.
He also revealed that the ceremony is performed with the spirit of thanks giving to God for the gift of life and also a bountiful harvest.
The ceremony is performed, before each person embarks on the eating and consumption of the new yam according to tradition he said.
It is also a period of bringing every body togather both families, friends, inlaws, and well-wishers to celebrate and to have fun, and more over, there are no consequences attached if anyone refuses to celebrate he insisted.
Eze Ohaeri also maintained that there is nothing fetish in the celebration, added that it is only a cultural way of being grateful to God, for providing a bountiful harvest, and ushering them into another new farming season.
He called on the youths to desist from all forms of criminality, within this period of Celebration, noted that there is a serious sanction awaiting anyone who goes contrary to the laws of the celebration.
Also speaking the President General of Mbaocha Autonomous Community Elder John Orji from Umuafai, described new yam festival as the celebration of yam which has remained their culture from the ancient times.
It is in the month of August that Ibeku ancestral people recorgnises and performs Iwaji, and after that, every other community in Ibeku is now free to perform the new yam festival.
This ceremony was performed at Ndume level, when it was one community, but now, each community perform theirs at different dates allocated to them.
He also reiterated the fact that there are no consequences for those, who don’t participate in the celebration, but stressing that, it is an age long tradition, that was handed over to them by their fore fathers, it is the old people who brought the ceremony, but regretted that it has been hijacked by the youths.
Adding his voice, the president general of the Mbaocha community, John Orji stated that after the Iwaji in Ibeku by the Ezejis, in Mbaocha community, the first village to celebrate the yam ceremony, is Ndume Okpu, followed by the Azueke, then the rest.
Chief Orji said that the Mbaocha community revealed that the Ezes in Ndume Okpu is trying to reform the celebration of the new yam ceremony in the area, frowned that, the hoodlums, from every part of Umuahia, have joined in the Ibeku new yam festival to perpetuate evil and to commit heinous crimes during the period.
He also pointed out that each community has set up an Internal security network, to monitor the actions of the youths during the new yam Ceremony, stating that the minor offences will be handled internally, while the major ones, will be handed over to the police and other security agencies, for action.