Njoku Ji is the guardian deity of the
yam for the
Igbo people
The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and historically also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'',
/
/
''Eboans'', ''Heebo'';
natively ) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is fo ...
of southeastern
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. In parts of Igboland there are still annual rituals in honor of the yam deity known as Ifejioku. In some parts children who were dedicated to the service of the deity were named Njoku. As adults, such children were expected to become prosperous yam farmers which made them into nobility.
''Ihu-ji na-ama'' festival
The priests of Njoku Ji performed ceremonies such as the ''Ihu-ji na-ama'', where the priest would lead the village council of elders in roasting yams in the village square. The ''Ihu-ji na-ama'' festival acted as the beginning of the yam planting season, and in fact, no yams were allowed to be planted before this ceremony had been performed, with the consequences of planting yams early being a curse of bad luck upon the offender and his household.
See also
Ahia Njoku
References
Igbo deities
Agricultural deities
{{Africa-myth-stub