Located in Nigeria, the Osun River is an incredibly important body of water, not just because it sustains life and hosts wildlife of all kinds, but because it is named after the Orisha, Oshun.
Geographic Range: Nigeria
Access: Via boat
Populated by: Locals and the Orisha, Oshun
Reasons for visiting: Worship of Oshun
Horde: West African
Located in Nigeria, the Osun River is an incredibly important body of water, not just because it sustains life and hosts wildlife of all kinds, but because it is named after the Orisha, Oshun. As Oshun is a goddess of the people and one who looks after her followers, the river has become the site of a yearly festival.
The river is surrounded by the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, a sacred forest to those who follow the Yoruba religion. It is now a protected area and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. This grove is filled with statues and shrines dedicated to Oshun and other Orishas.
For over 700 years, there has been an annual festival at the river and the sacred grove, celebrating Oshun with two weeks of reverence and celebration. The festival involves various stages of worship, including lighting a 500-year-old sixteen-point lamp, a procession to the grove, and, of course, plenty of dancing.
The river has been under threat of horrendous pollution of late and has changed color in recent years. We suspect this will cause great upset to Oshun herself and dread to think of how she will respond to this.
