Iṣu — Yam
Category: Food
Yam, a starchy tuber central to Yorùbá cuisine — boiled, pounded, or fried.
The New Yam Festival celebrates the yam harvest and remains one of the most significant traditional festivals across Yorùbá land.
Yam is prepared in several distinct ways — boiled and served plain, pounded into a smooth swallow called iyán, or sliced and fried as dùndú — each with its own texture and typical accompaniment.
Its cultural weight shows up most clearly at the New Yam Festival, held after harvest in communities across Yorùbá land and much of West Africa, where the new crop is ceremonially presented and tasted before the wider harvest is eaten.
Example: A óò jẹ iṣu àti ẹ̀fọ́ fún oúnjẹ alẹ́. — "We will eat yam and vegetable stew for dinner."
Related words:
- Iyán — Pounded yam
- Dùndú — Fried yam