September is symbolic and sacred month for Isinkan people in Ondo State. It is a season of harvest for farmers. And just as a pregnant woman is with expectation, so is the people of Isinkan whenever harvest season approaches.
Among the crops harvested, yam as a major crop is revered in the community because it is the super cash crop that guarantees survival of not only the farmers but the people.
The new yam festival comes with funfair especially if the harvest is bountiful. Both indigenes of at home and in the Diaspora never fail to celebrate the new yam festival which to them lays a solid foundation for next farming season with the hope to enjoy a flourishing planting season and a fruitful year ahead.
Though there was a break in the celebration, this year’s event was a rejuvenation of cultural heritage.
There was a procession of ladies who carried yams across some parts of the community with cheers from Residents of Isinkan.
The yam carrying ladies and masquerades arrived the Iralepo’s palace in the waiting hands of the Regent, Princess Margaret Omonije, Chiefs, Princes and princesses.
The Regent thanked the guests for making out time to felicitate with their friends and colleagues from Isinkan.
He said the new yam festival has not only united Isinkan people, “it serves as strengthening cord of Isinkan tradition and culture.”
According to him, the festival is a defining moment in the lives of Isinkan farmers.
He noted that new yam festival is a major event that has made Isinkan enjoyed a stable bountiful harvest over the years because it is a means of appeasing the gods.
He said “ because of its importance, sons and daughters of Isinkan both at home and in the Diaspora joined hands to mark the event.”