The famous, yearly Osun Osogbo festival will start on Monday, August 1 2022 in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
Celebrated in a sacred grove to worship Osun – the Yoruba divinity in charge of fertility – the festival will hold through the month of August and climax on the 29th day of the month.
It is a big tourist event attended by Nigerians of all classes and foreigners from all continents of the world who join the Osun devotees in ritualistic activities aimed at resetting the human-divinity relationship with a view to achieving cosmic alignment in the Yoruba World, especially in aid of female fertility and safe childbirth cycle.
Traditionally, married women who seek the fruit of the womb attend the Osun Groove, whose most famous lived-in devotee is probably the late Austrian Susan Wenger.
Some of the rituals lined up for the festival include the traditional cleansing of Osogbo, which is known as ‘Iwopopo’, on August 1, followed by the lighting of the 500-year-old six-point lamp called ‘Atupa oloju merindinlogun’ three days after cleansing the land.
‘Bibo Ade Oba Osogbo’ meant to honour past Osogbo monarchs is slated for August 8, 2022.
‘Dida Ifa arugba’ during which a young virgin woman, the Arugba (Carter of the Sacrificial Salver) of a royal lineage offers sacrifices to Osun will hold on August 11.
This will be followed by the ‘Dida Ifa Arugba’.
The festival will end with the ‘Osun Ajigun’ on August 29, 2022.
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