Osun Osogbo: History Behind the Festival That Celebrates River Goddess Every Year
- The Osun Osogbo which started hundreds of years ago always attracts tourists from all over the world
- During the festival that holds around August, worshippers come into the river to make prayers to the goddess
- A significant part of the festival is the Arugba procession as a girl chosen for that task must reflect purity
The popular Osun Osogbo festival began about 600 years ago and was started by the founders of the community.
Legends have it that the founders of Osogbo were one day cutting down trees in order to create an area of settlement when a spirit told them to steer clear.
Source: Facebook
Thousands worship the goddess
The place where they were chased away from soon turned into a place of worship. The yearly event of the Osun Osgobo festival happens around August. It often draws callers from around the world.
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Osun, the river goddess, that is worshipped at the river is known as the goddess of fertility, nature, love, among other things.
Sacred Journeys gathered that the festival gets an annual participant of 100,000 to the Osun sacred grove. It also said that the Osun religion is one of the 10-most celebrated in the world.
The Arugba
One of the opening activities of the festival is the lighting of multiphased lamps in the streets of Osogbo. The festival’s procession is not complete with the place of the Arugba.
The Arugba who is a young girl chosen from the king’s extended family is picked for her purity. Before carrying the calabash throughout Osogbo to the grove, she is hidden from the public.
When worshippers step into the stream, they make prayers about things they do not want to see in their lives anymore. Others pray for the fruit of the womb.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that a cute video has captured the 2021 Egungun Festival in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
In the video that was shared on Facebook by Yoruba-Brazilian Descendants Renascimento Association, many people could be seen partaking in the festival as they sang and danced on the streets of Brooklyn.
The participants could be seen promoting the African culture as they wore traditional attires with beads around the neck.
Source: Legit.ng
