The ancient palace of Ile-Ife, cradle of Yoruba civilization, came alive with sacred rites, vibrant culture, and spiritual reverence on Monday, August 4, 2025, as His Imperial Majesty Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, Ojaja II, led the annual New Yam Festival.
Rooted in centuries of agrarian heritage, the festival honours the yam not merely as a staple crop but as a sacred symbol of life, abundance, and continuity.
Central to the day’s observance were deeply symbolic rituals in which the Ooni, serving as both spiritual and cultural custodian, offered freshly harvested yams to the deities and ancestral spirits. This act of thanksgiving signified communal gratitude, renewal, and prayers for a prosperous harvest season.
One of the most powerful and symbolic highlights of the 2025 celebration was the revered tradition where yam sellers had their entire harvest purchased—right at the palace courtyard. Through his second-in-command, the Obalufe of Ife, His Imperial Majesty led this culturally significant act by clearing off all the yam sellers’ produce.
This gesture honoured their labour, sanctified the new harvest, and ensured that their first sale of the season commenced with royal blessings. It was a vivid demonstration of the enduring bond between the throne and the people, and of the yam’s central role in Yoruba agricultural and spiritual life.
In his ceremonial regalia, the Ooni embodied royal grace and cultural pride, receiving reverent homage from high chiefs, priests, traditional title holders, and thousands of worshippers who gathered in colourful numbers to witness the rites.
The palace reverberated with chants, drumming as praise singers and cultural troupes animated the grounds in honour of the king and the deities.
Her Regal Majesty, Olori Temitope Enitan-Ogunwusi, stood in dignified support beside the Ooni, further enriching the occasion with her presence. Clad in traditional attire, she joined other royal family members and palace dignitaries in a display of cultural unity and respect for ancestral customs.
Highlights of the event included spirited traditional dances, praise renditions, and the sharing of local delicacies made from the new yam, underscoring the festival’s communal and culinary significance.
As in generations past, the yam was not only celebrated as food but as a spiritual offering—bridging the realms of the living, the ancestors, and the divine.
Beyond the pageantry, the New Yam Festival reasserted the enduring importance of Yoruba traditions in a fast-changing world. It was also a testament to the Ooni’s continuing commitment to preserving and promoting cultural identity, unity, and spiritual continuity in the Yoruba nation and beyond.
Through the 2025 observance, the Ile-Ife palace reaffirmed its standing as a timeless altar of Yoruba heritage—where the past meets the present in sacred celebration.
