AKYODE TRADITIONAL AREA STATE YAM FESTIVAL (GYOGYIBELƐ)
Gyogyi is the annual yam festival celebrated by the people of Akyode, in the Oti Region of Ghana. The Akyode as an ethnic have a unique culture which is very pivotal for socio-politico-economic development. Gyogyible on the other hand is the climax of all the yam festivals of the individual towns. The origin of the celebration is the conscious acknowledgment of the blessing bestow on men through yam by the supernatural and the Brukum Stool. Men were able to change the wild yam into the current yam with varieties which produce big tubers within a few months against any other such root tuber crops known by the Akyode people. Thus, it is believed that the crop is imbued with supernatural spirits which must be cleansed in a rite before its consumption. If the rite is not performed to free the tuber of its spiritual power before consuming it, the powers that be, especially the Brukum stool and the ancestors might feel slighted. Its consumption becomes a taboo, and instant death or other ca...