International records / OpenAlex research

Yam ceremonies and the values of Ohafia culture

Opening Paragraph The subject of this paper is the ceremonies which the Ohafia of south-eastern Nigeria perform in connexion with their major farm crop, yams (Dioscorea spp.). These relate both to the annual agricultural cycle and to the taking of yam-related titles which express status in Ohafia society at large. The special place yams occupy in Ohafia culture as the prestige crop, associated particularly with men, cannot be explained simply as an effect of the material importance of yam and its cultivation in the Ohafia economy. For whatever may explain the origin of yam's ritual importance,…