Igede Agba is the annual new yam festival of the Igede people of Oju and Obi, Benue State, held in September as a thanksgiving for the harvest.
- Type
- Festival
- Nature of the record
- Contemporary practice
- Category
- Festivals & ceremonies
- When observed
- Annually in September (first Ihigile market day, per I am Benue)
- Season
- New yam harvest
- Usual months
- September
- Current status
- Active
- Scope
- Ethnic group
Igede Agba is the new yam festival of the Igede people of Oju and Obi local government areas in Benue State. The National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), a federal agency, describes it as an annual festival held in September to give thanks for a good harvest, with yams at its centre. The community thanks the deities and ancestors for the farming season, dance troupes perform to indigenous music, and yams are prepared in traditional dishes and shared with visitors. NICO presents the festival as a source of unity for the Igede and a way of keeping their heritage alive.
An article on I am Benue by Ojotule Angela Omaji (2024) dates the festival to the first Ihigile market day of September, which it describes as the seventh moon, Oya, in the Igede calendar. It calls the festival a thanksgiving for a good harvest and for the beginning of the planting season, and "a time of peace, reconciliation and sharing". Families gather by household: the sons meet at their father's round hut, the ugara, while the wives and daughters gather in the senior wife's hut. Farmers with the largest farms or the biggest yams receive awards, and the day is marked by pounded yam, music and dancing.
How and when the festival began is not established here: the accounts found online differ and are not supported by reliable sources.
- Igede Agba Festival — National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), 2025-04-17 · link
- Igede Agba (New Yam Festival) — Ojotule Angela Omaji, I am Benue, 2024-09-04 · link
How evidence is graded
- Verified: Supported by an official source, or by two or more independent sources that agree.
- Well documented: Supported by credible sources, but not yet independently confirmed.
- Reported: Found in a credible source; further corroboration is welcome.
- Needs corroboration: The evidence is thin or incomplete; more sources are being sought.
- Disputed: Credible sources or community accounts disagree; the differing accounts are noted.
- Uncertain: There is not yet enough information to classify this responsibly.
Sources are marked official, academic, reference, community or general web. Sources that copy each other count as one. Oral traditions are recorded as traditions, not as proven fact.
Archive ID: CULT-IGEDE-AGBA · Last updated 26 September 2026.
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