By Romanus Okoye
Thousands of people are converging at Utali Ego House, Umueri today as Chief Aniekwe Okoye, popularly known as Utali Anam, together with Evidential Mummy Fire, hosts thanksgiving/annual Otite Anam New Yam Festival in what organizers say will be the largest celebration in recent years.
The two-day festival, running August 23-24, marks part of the yam harvest season for the Anam people; it draws participants to Umuatuolu Umueri, the ancestral home of the Umuenwelum Anam community in Anambra West Local Government Area.
Chief Okoye, who hails from Umuenwelum, is hosting the festival at his residence in Umueri, where both his house and street bear his name.
The Otite Anam New Yam Festival was held on Sunday, Eke, August 17, 2025. But the celebration continues days and weeks thereafter.
At the heart of today’s gathering lies Otite Anam, the traditional New Yam Festival that serves as both spiritual cleansing ritual and thanksgiving ceremony in Igbo culture. Elsewhere in Igboland, this sacred tradition prohibits the consumption of new yams until community elders perform ceremonial rites acknowledging ancestral spirits, a practice deeply rooted in agricultural customs that have sustained the people for generations. But in Anam, it is slightly different because Anam people eat “Akwaka ji” before this time.
For some Igbo, the festival’s spiritual significance centres on offerings to Ani, the earth goddess in Igbo cosmology, accompanied by libations, traditional prayers, and the ritual breaking of the first yam by the eldest male family members. Generally, these ceremonial practices seek continued agricultural prosperity for the community and represent the connection between the people and their land.
Beyond its spiritual dimensions, the festival simultaneously serves as a networking event for the Anam diaspora. Attendees use the gathering to establish connections and discuss community development projects that extend far beyond the celebration itself.
The cultural richness of the event unfolds through performances by various entertainers. These performances complement educational sessions where elders share oral histories with younger participants, creating a living repository of traditional agricultural practices and cultural ceremonies that define Anam heritage.
Today’s attendees represent a cross-section of the community, reflecting the festival’s role as a unifying cultural institution that transcends social boundaries. Religious leaders from both traditional and Christian denominations participate in the ceremonies, demonstrating the syncretic nature of contemporary Igbo spiritual practices and the festival’s ability to bridge different faith traditions.
The gathering at Utali Ego House at Umuatuolu, Umueri in Anambra East Local Government Area, demonstrates how traditional festivals continue to serve as vital connective tissue, linking current generations with their ancestral heritage through the timeless celebration of the harvest season.
