Nko new yam festival:The true origin of Ekoi Leboku new yam festival.

Origin of the Yakurr New Yam Festival(Ekoi)

Ekoi or Leboku new yam festival is a priceless cultural event celebrated annually to mark the growth of farm products especially the new yam by the yakurr nation in Cross River State,  Nigeria.

The period is synonymous with exchange of gifts and visitation amongst families and friends including those who are aliens to the culture.

How the yakurr festival began

As the people of Nko moved out of “AKPA” during the exodus, and in what can be likened to as the “GREAT TREK”, certain cultural artifacts and believe were carried along too. The first settlers as a matter of fact, came in groups of maternal family units or lineages. One among these family units is the “ ASSANGHA” maternal family.

This family like others came and settle as an already organized people with cultural bonds;  notable amongst is “EKOI LEBOKU”  a fetish god of fertility acquired in order to procreate and fruitful the wombs of the family members of ASSANGHA.

The foregoing, buttresses  the fact that before now, in the yaw, it was a celebration held among the “ASSANGHA” maternal family members on a yearly bases.  The people of Nko, then as a unity of various maternal family groups, saw the need to acquire and consequently adopt this shrine worship of the “ASSANGHA”  family as a unifying force. The celebration has now become a community affairs for the appeasement of the gods of fertility during harvest.

The festival marks the beginning of the traditional year of harvest. It's a celebration centered around certain ancestral deity,  notably, the god of fertility and purification. Religiously, it is a period of thanksgiving to the gods (yabasse) for a bounteous harvest. It is also a period of alms giving as it create euphoria of socialization among friends, relations and visitors alike.

Leboku today is not only a family practice of the “ASSANGHA” maternal family but a practice that brings joy among the entire people of Nko. During the festival young girls or maidens are beautifully dressed in their prime and wear bangles (locally called Liman). They display and dance during the maiden's parade.

Most importantly, during this period traditional chiefs do not see or eat new yams until all the traditional rites are performed. Until the eve of the Leboku celebration (Ebokupom). Also within the period kept for the new yam festival, beating of drums, funeral obsequies, public out-cry or noise is not allowed.

THE ETANGALA MASQUERADE 

The Etangala masquerade is an interesting display which attracts both young and old people including visitors during the festival period especially as it is the first Etangala amongst the yakurr people. The Ekoi dance usually crowns the entire activities of the Leboku.

Today not only that the entire yakurr communities practice Leboku in their various villages but has been adopted as medium of fostering peace amongst the yakurr communities by the Cross River state government since the time of His Excellency  Donald  Duke , and a means of tourism attracting people from different parts of the country.