Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove (also known as Osun Sacred Grove) is a sacred grove which is along the banks of Osun River at the outskirt of Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. The grove is several centuries old. It is among the last of the sacred forests that once adjoined the edges of most Yoruba cities before extensive urbanization. A century ago, there were many sacred groves in Yorubaland. Every town had one. The dense forest of the Osun Sacred Grove is some of the last remnants of primary high forest in Southern Nigeria.
This River Osun meanders through the forest and it is the spiritual abode of the goddess Osun. There are forty shrines, sculptures, and art works set within the forest sanctuary and which are erected in honor of Osun and other Yoruba deities. Many of these artifacts were created in the past forty years; two palaces, five sacred places, and nine worship points are strung along the river banks with designated priests and priestesses. The new art which was installed in the grove has differentiated it from other groves. It is now unique in having a 20th -century sculpture created to reinforce the links between the people and the Yoruba pantheon of gods, and also in the way Yoruba towns linked their establishment and growth to the spirits of the forest.
Every year in August, the Osun-Osogbo Festival is celebrated.
The Osun-Osogbo Grove was desecrated indiscriminately in the 1950s. Shrines were neglected and priests abandoned the grove as customary responsibilities and sanctions against desecration weakened. People engaged in prohibited actions such as fishing, hunting and felling of trees until an Austrian, Susanne Wenger, helped to reinstate traditional protections. With the help of the Ataoja (the royal king of the time) and the support of concerned people, Wenger formed a movement that challenged land speculators, repelled poachers, protected the shrines, and re-established the grove again as the sacred heart of Osogbo.
Wenger was later honored with the title “Adunni Olorisha” for her custodial efforts and her consistent devotion to the gods of the grove. Ever since that year, the Osun-Osogbo Festival is celebrated at the grove in August every year. The festival attracts thousands of Osun worshippers, spectators and tourists from all over the world. The festival is believed to have a history of more than 700 years. Historically, an ancestral occurrence led to the celebration of this festival. Once, Olutimehin and other migrants settled on the bank of the Osun river to save themselves from famine. Yeye Osun appeared to Olutimehin and requested that he led the people to the present-day Osogbo town. She promised them protection in return for an annual sacrifice which is now the Osun-Osogbo Festival.
The Osun Grove is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In recognition of its global significance and cultural value, the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. The grove is an active religious site where daily, weekly and monthly worship takes place. Additionally, an annual processional festival to re-establish the mystic bonds between the goddess and the people of the town occurs every year over 12 days in July and August, and thus sustains the living cultural traditions of the Yoruba people.
In 1965 the grove was first declared a National Monument. This original designation was amended and expanded in 1992 to protect the entire 75 hectares. According to the Nigerian Cultural Policy of 1988, “The State shall preserve as Monuments old city walls and gates, sites, palaces, shrines, public buildings, promote buildings of historical significance and monumental sculptures.” The grove had a well-developed management plan covering the period of 2004 to 2009 which was adopted by all stakeholders and the site enjoys a participatory management system.
The Osun Grove will preserve the heritage of the Osun people.
Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is also part of National Tourism Development Master Plan that was established with World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The grove will also serve as a model of African heritage that preserves the tangible and intangible values of the Osogbo people in particular and the entire Yoruba race. As a source of pride, the grove will remain a living thriving heritage that has traditional landmarks as well as a veritable means of transfer of traditional religion and indigenous knowledge systems to African people in the diaspora.
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It is good thing The Osun Grove is being recognized… it’s unique creation was to reinforce, link, establish, grow and preserve the tangible and intangible values of the Osogbo people.
The osun osogbo Grove is a cultural heritage if the Osun people where the deity is kept to be worshipped and it is also a National monument.
The osun- osogbo grove is a thing of history. The osun deity is there and that’s where it is worshipped and celebrated. They are also instrument that depicts the history behind our background.
The osun- osogbo festival has been in existence from decades and people worshipping there make it mandatory that every year they celebrate it and the UNESCO also help a lot so that the historical site didn’t go obsolete.
Wow, I have not heard of this before. So many history and stories we don’t even know at all. I will like to know more history of the ancient history of the old
The Osun Sacred Grove contains some of the few remaining patches of primary high forest in Southern Nigeria, and its surrounding forest is thick and full of trees.
It is one of the few remaining examples of the sacred woodlands that originally lined the outskirts of the majority of Yoruba cities before considerable urbanization took place.
We should know that as traditional duties and punishments for desecration lost their power, shrines were left to fall into disrepair and priests left the grove.
Yoruba cities traditionally tied their founding and development to forest spirits, and now a sculpture from the 20th century has been erected to further strengthen ties between the people and the Yoruba pantheon of gods.
The celebration is attended by tens of thousands of people who pray to Osun, as well as onlookers, and tourists from all over the world; therefore, it is important that the event be carefully protected.
It is wonderful that the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. This honor was given to it because of its importance on a global scale and its cultural value.
It is interesting to learn that every year there is a celebration that involves a processional to re-establish the mystic links that once existed between the goddess and the residents of the town.
Osun Oshogbo grove is a site to behold and a place of tourist attractions. Government can generate revenue for it. It actually preserve the history and culture of the people of Osun.
Osun Oshogbo scared grove is a good tourist center that we can visit to. It speaks volumes about the history of people of Osun. Therefore that site has to be preserved to maintain history.
Shrines were abandoned to fall into ruin, and priests abandoned the grove, because traditional duties and sanctions for violation had lost their power.
Osun Tourists can visit Oshogbo frightening grove. It reveals Osun history. That site must be protected to preserve history.
The Osun Sacred Grove is surrounded by thick, tree-filled forest, and it is home to some of the last remaining patches of primary high forest in Southern Nigeria.
This is also history is where deity are worshipped , is also where osun deity are located. It is a nice history where people can explore to know more about how things are done there in the past
Nigeria seem to have lots of monuments which are national treasures. But are not just recognized well enough.
One of the few remaining instances of the sacred forests that once surrounded most Yoruba communities before significant industrialisation occurred. Unfortunately most don’t even get to know about it existence and power.
The annual celebration of the Osun-Osogbo festival is mandated by those who worship there, and the UNESCO also contributes significantly to ensuring that the historical monument doesn’t become unrecognized.