Yams are large starchy root vegetables — a bit like a very big, rough-skinned potato. They can grow to over a metre long and weigh several kilograms. In Benin's northern regions they are a staple food, meaning they are eaten at almost every meal, and a good yam harvest means the community will have plenty to eat through the coming months.
The festival usually takes place in August or September when the first new yams are dug up from the ground. The very first yams of the harvest are placed in a place of honour and shared among the community before anyone eats them at home. Elders, children, farmers, and visitors all gather together for the occasion.
Festival day is filled with drumming, dancing, and singing from early morning. Cooks prepare dishes from freshly harvested yams — pounded yam (which is soft and stretchy, a bit like mashed potato but firmer), yam porridge cooked with palm oil and vegetables, and fried yam slices served with spicy pepper sauce.
Sharing the first harvest together is a way of saying thank you — to the farmers who worked hard, to the rain that watered the crops, and to the community that helped each other through the growing season. It is a reminder that food is something to be grateful for and shared.