Roland Shuwa
There is no denying the wide believe among members of the Osun cult that the deity is viewed as a ‘Mother’ and the devotees as ‘her children’ this further serves as a strong unifying factor in Osogboland, as, irrespective of the different social, economic, religious and political affiliations of the people, they all come together every year to celebrate the goddess.
Roland Shuwa,
The Osun goddess, Osun Osogbo is known to be a mother of many children. She is ‘Osun Olomoyoyo’ (Osun, mother of many children). Apart from being a savior and protector, Osun is believed to be a mother to all and renowned for her great blessings of fertility for women of all races. She gives blessings of children to barren women.
Many barren women have reportedly visited Osun River to have the river goddess help them with the fruits of the womb with promises to bring something in return, in gratitude to the deity. But while many of them remembered to fulfill their promises, some others forgot in transit, and have been dealt with by Yeye Osun. Some also deliberately refuse to honour their pledges. While some believe Osun herself has a monopoly of granting blessings of the womb to whoever she wishes, others are of the belief that Olodumare (God) granted her that privilege.
History and oral tradition have it that Osun is one of the greatest and powerful deities whose contributions to the progress and peaceful co-existence of her people cannot be undermined. It’s beyond the ordinary.
In the beginning, Osun was among the four hundred and one deities that Olodumare sent to form the earth and also use their knowledge to maintain it. The other deities neglected and isolated Osun, because she is a woman, and she was not allowed to attend their meetings.
She reciprocated the insult by working against the other deities. She then formed a club based on witchcraft with the main purpose of sabotaging all the plans of the other deities. Life on earth became unbearable, as there was drought, famine, sickness, and there was no progress in the lives of anyone.
Confronted with possible failure in the task given to them, the other deities decided to go back to Olodumare.
Olodumare asked about the only woman among them. They explained that because she is a woman, she was not allowed to participate in any of their meetings, functions, or decision-making process.
Olodumare instructed them to invite her and make her a strategic member of their association because she was the root of all the catastrophes they faced on earth.
The deities returned back to earth and begged Osun to forgive their mistakes, and implored her to work with them as a team to ensure that life on earth goes smoothly.
Osun agreed to join them, and they put their resources together to complete the divine task of superintending over the earth as it were then.
It could be said, therefore, that Osun was the first to start women’s liberation. She fought for the right of women and sealed their place as a force to be reckoned with on earth.She is a warrior, a liberator, and a deliverer.
But more than this she is a blessing to the ancient town of Osogbo, Nigeria, and Africa at large.
Little wonder then that her vast environment is globally recognized as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The annual festival in her honour is not just a mere ceremony for people to converge yearly and celebrate but a spiritual renaissance, a connection between the spiritual and the physical world.
It is an opportunity for traditional adherents to gather for the most famous and glamorous festival in the South Western part of Nigeria. And the different rituals reaffirms the sacred bond and re-opens the pathway between the goddess and the people of Osogbo.
The aesthetics of the Osun Osogbo festival includes drumming, dancing, musical performance, wearing of elaborate costumes, recitation of praise poetry about Osun, the offering of sacrifices, sometimes in fulfillment of pledges, and for seeking of favours.
The two-week event is punctuated by four major activities namely: the Iwo-popo ritual, Ina Olujumerindinlogun ritual, Iboriade ritual, and the Arugba ritual. All these activities are reminiscing of the history of the people and celebrate their cultural heritage.
The Iwo-popo ritual is the first public ritual of the Osun festival. It is the traditional clearing of the major Osogbo main road and a ritual to cleanse the city from evil. This is the very first ritual to be carried out before the festival starts properly.
According to history, this symbolic path-clearing is reminiscing of a major event in the founding of Osogbo town. It is said that when the ancestors of Osogbo were faced with perennial water scarcity in Ipole they commissioned some prominent hunters to look for possible source(s) of water for the people to settle.
These hunters were said to have cleared the path to the Osun River for the people to settle before their encounter with the goddess of the river.
On this day, the Ataoja, accompanied by his wives, chiefs, Osun priestess and other devotees proceed from his palace to Gbaemu which is at the center of the town. At the designated point in Gbaemu, the Ataoja would sit down with his full paraphernalia of office and accept communal gifts from his subjects.
Traditional chiefs, local rulers, family heads, members of traditional societies, men, women, and children would also pay homage to the Ataoja while he showers royal blessing on them. After this traditional path-clearing rite at Gbaemu, the Ataoja returns to the palace amidst pomp and pageantry.
Three days after the Iwopopo ritual is the lightening of a 16-point lamp which is believed to be over 600 years old, the Atupa Ina Olojumerindinlogun ritual. The Olojumerindinlogun lamp is a brass column that holds sixteen tray-like receptacles. It is believed that the sixteen-point lamp represents the sixteen major Orisa (Deities) who organized the world, the sixteen major Odu Ifa, and the sixteen palm nuts used in Ifa divination.
It is believed that one of the founders of Osogbo town, Olutimehin, during one of his hunting expeditions seized the 16-points lamp from some goblins who were dancing around it. The Osun goddess was said to have instructed the people that the seized lamp must be celebrated the way the spirits were doing when Olutimehin seized it from them anytime the Osun festival is nine days to come.
This is why the lightening of the Atupa Olojumerindinlogun comes up nine days to the grand finale of the Osun Osogbo festival. The venue is the Ataoja’s palace courtyard.
Cotton and palm oil are placed in the sixteen tray-like receptacles and lighted at about 7.00 pm. The lamps are kept burning till daybreak on Friday, exactly a week to the grand finale of the Osun festival.
The Ataoja, his wives and attendants, Osun priestess, and other Osun devotees dance around the lighted lamp three times at three intervals of prayers and invocations inside the Osun shrine at the Ataoja’s palace. The Ataoja, accompanied by his relatives and traditional chiefs, is also expected to dance around the market square before he finally returns to the palace.
The Iboriade ritual is also dubbed Ojo Ibori and Iboade. This is the ritual where all the crowns of the past Ataojas, -past kings- are assembled for blessings by the sitting Ataoja of Osogbo, the Arugba, the Yeye Osun, and a committee of priestesses. Also, on this day sacrifice is made for all the past Ataoja, their wives, and the palace. On this special day, the sitting Ataoja feasts all his chiefs, family members, and the general public and gives alms to the poor in society.
The grand finale of the two-week festival is the Arugba ritual where the calabash containing the sacrifice materials to appease and worship the Osun goddess is carried across town by the chosen votary virgin. It is believed that the calabash for the ritual items was handed to the ancestors of Osogbo by the Osun goddess who instructed that the Arugba (calabash carrier) must be a royal virgin lady who must carry it to the grove on the day of the festival.
The ritual which is the climax of the event attracts a mammoth crowd of worshippers and tourists who come yearly for spiritual rejuvenation or sightseeing as the case may be. As the Arugba -votary virgin- leads the procession to the river, the people, seeing her as a representative of the goddess, cast their problems on her and make their requests.
The eve of the Arugba ritual is a carnival-like atmosphere at Osogbo town as musicians, Deejas, and members of the video and audio renter’s association blast the airwaves with songs eulogizing the Osun goddess.
At the first light of dawn, priestesses and worshippers, especially influential individuals head to the River to pay obeisance and fulfill their vows or seek for benedictions.
Apart from the celebration of cultural events, many business organizations and companies now take part in the celebrations – seizing upon the opportunity to showcase their products and sell their services amidst the pomp and pageantry.
