Why is there a yam festival in Volta Region Ghana?

The Yam Festival in the Volta Region is something I never understood till a few days ago after bumping into one video on YouTube about it and doing my own research and also thanks to my connection with so many old relatives, I can ask anything about my country and get answers.

Primarily, it taught me of the things that people should be most thankful for in their lives, a good example is the community we have and also to be able to make it through another farming year together. The festival also represents the relationship to the land that Ewe people had for thousands of years before western forms of celebrations where introduced. When the Ewe people had their first yam crop of the year, they would take the first yam from the harvest and pray over it in thanks to the dky, God and to their ancestors. The ceremonial yam offering was a show of the gratitude of the Ewe people for the harvest and a request for guidance into the next year.

In as much as science has brought enlightenment, you could see how people can be in tuned with spirits and agriculture.

Even as life has changed dramatically in today's society, people have smart phones and when I step outside I hear loud music everywhere, the way the festival event happens and what it represents has not changed at all. In the same way as in past centuries, the yam offering to the sky is a constant part of the festival, and each person receiving their first yam recognizes that they are part of a larger entity than themselves.

After this initial part of the ceremony, the festival becomes an enormous celebration of the yam harvest, with music and dancing, chiefs in full ceremonial regalia and children running around delivering food to the peoplr as if they are doing their job. I'll go find out whether these children get paid for that. Probably not, it's their culture so they're obviously doing it for the spirit of the culture.

This festival shows that the harvest is not only limited to food, but it involves the struggles that helped us survive, celebrating the victories we have and honoring those who have come before.

Through the ceremonial yam sharing, they are able to pass down the teachings of their ancestors who taught them to be grateful for today, to be together and to have hope for a larger harvest in the future.

This is a video I picked up from YouTube, you can watch and see how it's done, there are so many more online.