Yam Festival

The Yam Festival is popular holiday in Ghana and Nigeria, usually held in the beginning of August at the end of the rainy season. It is named after yams, the most common food in many African countries. It is also known as "Ikeji" in Nigeria.In Nigeria, dancers wear masks that reflect the seasons or other aspects of nature. 
Yams are the first crops of the season to be harvested. People offer yams to gods and ancestors before distributing them to the villagers to give thanks to the spirits above them.
==See also==
*Trobriand Islands
*Bronisław Malinowski (1929) The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia
Category:Religious festivals
Category:Festivals in Ghana
Category:Festivals in Nigeria
Category:August events
== References ==
* Bentor, Eli African Arts; Winter2005, Vol. 38 Issue 4, p38-93, 9p
* http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/yamfestival.htm
* Jackson, Ellen. "The Autumn Equinox"
* Pfeffer, Wendy. "We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season."