The ancient city of Benin came alive with colour and celebration as the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, hosted a grand feast in honour of this year’s Emoro Festival, popularly known as the New Yam Festival.
The event, which drew both indigenes and nonindigenes, was a vibrant display of Benin’s rich cultural heritage and gratitude for the year’s bountiful yam harvest.
Among dignitaries present were Palace Chiefs, Princes and Princesses, Odionweres of various communities, priests and priestesses, market women leaders, as well as emissaries from Isele Uku and other guests.
The celebration followed a two week period of fasting and prayer, underscoring its spiritual importance. The opening prayer was led by Chief Norense Ozigbo Esere, the Osuma of Benin, in line with the Oba’s directive.
Speaking during the event, Chief Michael Odiakhose, an emissary of the Obi of Isele Uku, described the festival as “a thanksgiving to God for a fruitful harvest and the beginning of a new agricultural year.”
Guests were treated to traditional dishes of pounded yam and assorted soups, symbolizing the commencement of the new yam season.
Many participants lauded the Oba of Benin for preserving the kingdom’s time honoured customs. They also called on younger generations to embrace and sustain such cultural celebrations, rejecting claims by some that the festival is fetish.
The Emoro Festival remains one of the most significant cultural and spiritual events in the Benin Kingdom, a symbol of unity, thanksgiving, and cultural pride.
