Being a lover of ancient art and artifacts, the osun-osogbo
sacred groove is definitely one of my favourite places to visit. Sadly I missed the annual festival, so planned a trip with a couple of
friends and let’s just say it was worth it, The groove is located in western
Nigeria within osun state surrounded by medicinal trees, shrines, idols and
monkeys.
Arrival
We arrived at the groove at noon on a Wednesday to prevent
meeting a crowd, at the entrance we were asked to pay an entry fee of 200 naira
and also a 1000 fee for either our camera or camera phone after which we were
handed over to a tour guide.
Statues, gods and
goddess
Our tour began on the spot because believe it or not, every
area of the groove is covered with meaningful art. Firstly we were taken to a wall that have
these awesome statues of masquerades and drummers that play important roles in
the osun festival. The wall also has a statue like description of what goes on
during the annual osun goddess festival. We then went further to another part
of the groove that had the Ifa shrine, the osun goddess, and esu. Along the way we came across a large number
of monkeys, one of which is believed to have been in the groove for over 15
years and get this, the monkeys will stalk you if you pass by them without
showing them the contents of your bag.
The suspended bridge
Just above the Osun River is the suspended bridge that I and
my tour compadres fearlessly went on to get my readers the full groove
experience.
Susanne Wenger (also
known as Adunni Olorisha)
She is the late Austrian Artist who became the Osun river
goddess high priestess and also the guardian of the groove. She is responsible
for most of the statues and artifacts that are housed by the groove.
Conclusion
Visiting the groove was very insightful so it is not surprising
that it is a UNESCO heritage site.
The cost of visiting the groove is relatively affordable plus
you get a tour guide with no extra cost, more reason this should not be your
next travel location.
For visitors coming from far you can check websites like
hotels.ng and jumiatravel.com to book for hotels nearby.
Express yourself, I always love to hear from you.
more photos from my trip;
2 comments
Very insightful write up. I love it! And the pictures really good. Makes me really want to spend my next vacation at oshogbo and visit the sight.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mum 💜
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