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All You Need To Know About Osun-osogbo And The History Of Osogbo. by hommespecia: 1:55pm On Aug 19, 2016 |
Ǭ ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
OSUN-OSOGBO AND THE HISTORY OF OSOGBO.
INTRODUCTIONߑɠOsun-Osogbo or Osun-
sacred Grove is a sacred city of Osogbo ,Osun
State , Nigeria. The Osun-Osogbo Grove is
among the last of the sacred forests which
usually adjoined the edges of most Yoruba cities
before extensive urbanization. In recognition of
its global significance and its cultural value , the
Sacred Grove was inscribed as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 2005.The 1950s saw the
desecration of the Osun-Osogbo Grove: Shrines
were neglected , priests abandoned the grove as
customary responsibilities and sanctions
weakened.
Prohibited actions like fishing , hunting and felling
of trees in the grove took place until Austrian ,
Susanne , Wenger , came and stopped the abuse
going on in the grove.With the encouragement of
the Ataoja and the support of the local people ,
"Wenger formed the New Sacred Art movement
to challenge land speculators , repel poachers
,protect shrines and begin the long process of
bringing the sacred place back to life by
establishing it , again at the sacred heart of
Osogbo.
HOW OSOGBO CAME INTO BEINGߑɠOne of the
most accepted history of Osogbo can be traced
to 1670 AD. As History had it , it all started with
the journey of a famous hunter called Olutimilehin
, who hails from Ipole-Omu, not far from
Ikotun.Olutimilehin came across a local Dam
while onhunting in a place called Gbonmin ,
around Oke-Baale area ( part of present day
Osogbo ) .
Due to the water scarcity facing his community ,
he went around to see if the dam will be capable
of sustaining his people.He was sad because the
dam could not sustain his community. And in his
quest,he discovered a stream called 'Okrokro' ,
which he traced its source to River Osun ( part of
present day Osogbo ). Olutimilehin then went
back to his community and inform the king ,
Larooye Gbadewolu of his findings.The king and
his subjects later moved to settle at the flood
plain and built his first palace later known as Ile
- Osun.
Overtime , Larooye and his subjects were
engaged in farming activities in their new found
land.History has it that while they were engaged
in bush clearing for cultivatio , they incidentally
fell off a tree, damaging the indigenous industry
of the spirit world.A voice was heard from the
river saying " Laro! Timehin! You have broken my
dyeing pots" .
Other voices from the spirit world were heard
saying! "Oso-Igbo Pele o , Oso-Igbo rora o!
(Oso-Igbo we commiserate with you).Later
Larooye got to know the name of the spirit
Queen Oso-Igbo (widely believe to be the
goodies of River Osun). This is why the Osun
goddess was , and is still regarded as the
spiritual mother of Oba Larooye and all the
succeeding Ataoja (King of Osogbo).
THE OSUN-OSOBGFESTIVALߑɠEvery year , the
Osun-Osogbo festival is cleberated in the month
of August at the grove.Yearly , the festival
attracts thousands of Osun worshippers ,
spectators and tourists from all spheres of
life.For the people of Osogbo land , August is a
month of celebration , traditional cleansing of the
city and cultural reunion of the people with their
ancestors and founders of the Osogbo kingdom .
The Osun-Osogbo festival is a two-week long
programme.It begins with the traditional
cleansing of the town called 'Iwopo'.which is
followed in three days by the lighting of the 500
year old sixteen point lamp called Ina
Olojumerindilogun '. Then comes the 'Iboriade',
an assemblage of the crowns of the past ruler ,
Ataojas of Osogbo , for blessings.This event is led
by the sitting Ataoja of Osogbo and the Arugba ,
Yeye Osun and a committee of priestesses.
Osun is the Yoruba personification of the 'water
of life' and the spiritual mother of Osogbo
Townships. It is a sacred forest believed by some
of its worshipers as the residence of the fertility
goddess in some reports.Osun , the forest itself is
full of shrines , works of art , sanctuaries and
sculptures. The bulk of these offering are devoted
to Osun , but many exist in reverence of other
deities within the Yoruba pantheon as well.
Within Osun it is the sacred groove, an area of
spiritual importance.The goddess is said to give
prosperity and protection to her people if they
built a shrine for her and respected the spirit of
the forest. |
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