Sacredness and ancestral connection to Africa; Osun Osogbo Grove & its festival in Nigeria

Abstract: The paper discusses the Osun worship and Osun Osogbo annual festival in Nigeria as an annual celebration of Osun, the goddess of fertility, prosperity, and healing. It discusses the significance of sacred grooves in Osun worship and the symbolic meaning attached to some of the cultural rites performed in the festival ( e.g., Arugba(virgin maid to carry sacrifice), celebration of numerous local creative traditions, like as drumming, dancing, singing, wearing ornate costumes, Yoruba speaking, libation and praise poems, recitals customarily). Drawn from oral sources, textual analysis , archeology, interviews and documentary, findings suggest that the Osun Osogbo festival holds significant spiritual value as a religious and spiritual celebration. Second, Osun festival has played an important role as a sacred place for the Yorubaland, evident in the number of diaspora and foreigner visitors to the Sacred Grove as ancestral connection to Africa." The Osun Osogbo festival is a source for joy and friendliness for the people and a source of spiritual refreshing for visitors.

Presenter bio: Adetola Elizabeth Umoh wears many hat as research fellow, student mentor and freelance journalist. She is a recent PhD graduate at the University at KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in 2023. She is a Remote Research Fellow, University of Religions and Denominations (URD) Iran.

Affiliation: University of Kwazulu-Natal