Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove

Overview

Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is an area of dense forest along the Osun River on the outskirts of Osogbo, in southwestern Nigeria, and an active place of worship. It is a grove held sacred in Yoruba religion and regarded as the abode of Osun, an orisha, or deity, of the river and fertility. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Present

Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is managed by Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, together with the Osun State Government and the Ataoja of Osogbo, the town's traditional ruler, who also serves as chief priest of Osun. The grove is an active place of Yoruba worship, with priests and devotees tending its shrines throughout the year. Its central event is the Osun-Osogbo festival, held over two weeks each August and culminating in a procession from the Ataoja's palace into the grove. The festival draws worshippers from Nigeria and from the African diaspora.

Religious Significance

Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is one of the most significant sites of Yoruba religion, the traditional faith of the Yoruba people of West Africa. The Yoruba recognize a supreme creator god and a large number of orisha, deities who govern aspects of nature and human life. The grove is regarded as the abode of Osun, the deity (orisha) of the Osun River and of fertility, healing, and the wellbeing of women and children. Yoruba tradition holds that settlers made their home by the river, and Osun agreed to protect them and grant them prosperity in exchange for annual offerings. The Osun-Osogbo festival renews this covenant each year. Devotees draw water from the river, which they regard as carrying her power to heal and to grant children.

History & Structure

The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is among the last surviving of the sacred groves that once bordered Yoruba cities for centuries. It covers about 75 hectares of dense forest along the meandering Osun River, and includes tall trees, shrines, and large sculptures set along the riverbanks and footpaths. In the 1950s the Austrian artist Susanne Wenger, who was initiated as a Yoruba priestess, settled in Osogbo and worked with local artists to restore the shrines that had been decaying over time, and to protect the forest. They created monumental sculptures in cement that depict Osun and other Yoruba deities. The grove was declared a Nigerian national monument in 1965. It contains around forty shrines along with numerous sculptures and works of art. Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

Resources

• Official website: National Commission for Museums and Monuments
• UNESCO: Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove