Eja-Oye Tradition: Owelli Performs Kick-off Ritual to Usher in New Yam Festivals (Iri-ji 2025) in Ntegbenese

By MikeTech
July 30, 2025 | MikeTech News

Eja-Oye Tradition 2025: Owelli Flags Off New Yam Festival Ritual – This year’s Eja-Oye ritual has been officially performed in Amabor-Owelli, marking the ceremonial kick-off of the 2025 Iri-ji (New Yam Festival) in Ntegbenese with cultural reverence, unity, and ancestral blessings.

The Eja-Oye Tradition 2025 is an annual cultural rite that symbolizes unity, festival of harvest, and ancestral reverence in Owelli and the wider Ntegbenese clan.

The ancient Eja-Oye cultural tradition was performed by the Chukwuani Igwe family of Umuagagbulu Uzam in Amabor-Owelli, marking the official start, of the 2025 New Yam Festival (Iri-ji) celebration across Ntegbenese clan in Enugu State.

The traditional ritual, which holds immense cultural and spiritual significance, was performed on July 29, 2025, by Ochigbu Inyinya Mathias Okoye (Ogbuefi Ihe Chukwun’eme) and Ochigbu Inyinya Anthony Chukwu (Ogbuefi Ilohanwata). The sacred rite signals the end of old yam consumption and grants cultural clearance for families and communities across Ntegbenese to begin celebrating with fresh yam harvests.

Eja-Oye Tradition 2025 Ritual for the Entire Clan

The Ntegbenese clan, made up of five communities—Ogugu, Owelli, Ihe, Agbogugu (in Awgu LGA), and Akaegbe (in Nkanu West LGA)—has long upheld the tradition of waiting for this annual ceremony before any formal celebration of new yam can take place. The Chukwuani Igwe family, custodians of the tradition, carry out the rites on behalf of the entire clan.

The ceremony is rooted in age-long Igbo customs and connects directly to the deity Oye Owelli, believed to bless the people with fertility, harvest abundance, and protection. The ritual site, known as Oye Owelli Court, also features revered spiritual landmarks including Ọdu-Aguna, Ngwu oke mkpume Ọnu Oye, and Oye market, each holding deep ancestral relevance.

Cultural Insight from Engr. Agu Solomon Agu’s Video on Eja-Oye Tradition 2025

Speaking on the significance of the ritual in a social media update, cultural ambassador Engr. Agu Solomon Agu highlighted the depth of the practice, stating:

“Eja-Oye is a harvest festival of gratitude, fertility, and protection. It marks the transition into a new season of agricultural prosperity, and the yam—the king of crops in Igbo tradition—is its symbol. Without this ritual, new yam consumption in the clan is considered forbidden.”

🎥 Watch the Eja-Oye Tradition 2025 Ritual Highlight:

👉 Click on the link below to watch the official video documentation of the 2025 Eja-Oye ritual as performed at Owelli Court:
📺 Eja-Oye Tradition

Eja-Oye Tradition 2025: Beginning of the Calendar for Oriri Anu Festival

The performance of the Eja-Oye ritual also begins the countdown to the “Oriri Anu Festival”, a major cultural festival celebrated every three years in Owelli town (Owelle-nanọ), representing its four constituent communities. This year’s Oriri Anu will run from December 2025 to January 2026, welcoming new age groups in a generational celebration of cultural identity.

Eja-Oye Tradition 2025: Pre-Ritual Preparations and Spiritual Observances

A day before the ritual, typically an Eke market day, men from Umuagagbulu kindred clear the sacred path leading to Oye Owelli, where the ritual takes place. The entire process is steeped in deep symbolism, and certain sites such as Ọdu-Aguna are so sacred that only appointed custodians enter barefooted to perform rites and settle disputes.

Other sacramental elements include:

• Oye Market – a spiritual centre where barren women once sought divine intervention in the past

• Ngwu oke mkpume Ọnu Oye – a warrior’s stone representing justice and breakthrough

• Four Mpkọnanu gunshots – fired at the end of the ritual to announce the ceremony’s conclusion and trigger preparations for the age-grade celebration (Ọwuwa-ekwa)

Preserving Culture in the Digital Age

This year’s event also reflects how technology and tradition can intersect. Through platforms like social media, cultural figures such as Engr. Agu Solomon Agu are helping preserve and share indigenous knowledge with younger generations and a wider audience. The documentation and digital storytelling of the Eja-Oye ritual serve as a bridge between the past and the present.

Conclusion

With the Eja-Oye tradition now completed, households and communities across Ntegbenese are officially free to begin organizing their Iri-ji 2025 (New Yam Festivals) in thanksgiving and celebration.

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✍️ By Okolike Michael
Digital Media Strategist | Published via MikeTech Blog

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