Question

His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew women’s crops, like coco-yams, beans, and cassava Yam, the king of the crops, was a man’s crop. What do yams symbolize in the Igbo society?

Answer 1

They symbolize masculanity.

Step-by-step explanation:

The book, "Thing Fall Apart," centers around the Igbo people. In their village they value agriculture greatly. In the text, it is stated,

"His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew women’s crops, like coco-yams, beans, and cassava Yam, the king of the crops, was a man’s crop."

The smaller crops represent the women, as they are not as valuable. The Yams on the other hand are highly valued, and are described as a man's crop.

Answer 2

In Igbo culture, yams were considered a symbol of masculinity.
Basically, yams were a symbol of everything in this society - they were their main food, their currency, even their symbol of masculinity. Somewhere in the text, there is a quite saying "Yam, the king of crops, was a man's crop," which supports the masculinity claim.

Hoped I helped!