From TCNEWS
The Secretary of Oboro Council of President Generals Forum, Engr. Dr. James Nnadozie Uchegbuo, has called on the traditional institution, to join in the celebration of the July 14 barn day, as testaments to the Southeast’s shared agricultural heritage.
Celebrated annually on July 14, Barn Day, serves as a clarion call to reclaim our connection with the natural world, and the humble structures that have enabled our agricultural pursuits. As we navigate the complexities of modern life, this celebration invites us to reflect on the lessons of the past, and the symbiotic bond between human endeavor and the natural environment, according to records.
Interacting with our correspondent in Umuahia, Abia State, Uchegbuo, who is also the President General of Ahuwa-Oboro autonomous community Oboro clan in Ikwuano L.G.A, disclosed that in a typical Igbo setting, owners of the barns (Oba ji) are recognized and given a respectable seat at meetings and discussions.
“We know that oba ji (barn) is where yams are kept. The yam seedlings are collected after the harvest and also kept in the barn in preparation for the next planting season. A big yam barn means the man is hard-working and can take care of his daughter. The barn stand as sentinels of our collective agricultural past, bearing witness to the trials and triumphs of generations past.
“Also, the barn is part of the tradition of the ancient Jews and the Igbos migrated from the tribe of Jehoshaphat in Israel. It is part of the agricultural practices of Ndigbo, to secure the king crop for the next planting season”, Uchegbuo also observed.
While describing yam barn as the bragging rights of the Igbo farmers, Uchegbuo said that one’s wealth is determined by the size of his yam barn and the number of yams in the barn.
“You know that yams require sunlight and necessitate tree clearance and the maintenance of secondary fallows for their cultivation, so a yam barn keeps the staple crop off the ground, where the tubers would be attacked by insects and fungal rot”, Uchegbuo further observed.
Uchegbuo who suggested that a day be mapped out before the annual new yam celebration to celebrate the barn and Communities that still practice it, observed further that barn day offered the avenue to acknowledge the dedication, perseverance, and ingenuity of the Southeast farming ancestors, who toiled tirelessly to cultivate the land and provide for their families.
The exact origins of Barn Day which serves as a nostalgic nod to this rich cultural legacy, are shrouded in mystery, but historians point to the medieval European tradition of honoring the harvest season as a possible precursor to this modern celebration. As the medieval period gave way to the Renaissance, the barn’s significance in rural communities only grew, becoming an integral part of the agricultural cycle.
Barn Day is a celebration of the symbiotic relationship between humans and the natural environment.