Who is arugba Osun?

Meet the Arugba, the fourteen-year-old member of the royalty selected to lead the procession to the Sacred Grove during the festival of Osun-Osogbo in Nigeria.

What is the meaning of Arugba?

The Arugba, also known as the 'calabash carrier', has a large calabash on her head underneath a colourful veil. It contains the sacrifices of the entire community and those offered by the people in attendance. Every Arugba has to remain a virgin during her time in the role.

How is the Arugba chosen?

Consequent upon the importance of this role, the Arugba is carefully chosen by the priests. Sources say that as soon as these votary maids are picked, they live under the watchful eyes of the Ataoja during the periods that they serve as Arugba.

Who is Osun husband?

Oshun is believed to have had many lovers and husbands, but her marriage to Shango, the Yoruba sky god of thunder and drumming, is the relationship most often discussed. (Because Shango is also married to her sisters.)

What is Oshun's daughter?

Oshún is a Yoruba orisha, daughter of Yemoja a Nigerian river goddess. Oshún is protector of the family and pregnant women. This mural of a daughter of Oshún was painted by Joel Bergner in 2008.

Is Oshun a religion?

Definition. Oshun (pronounced O-shan, also given as Osun) is a supernatural entity recognized as both a spirit and a goddess in the Yoruba religion of West Africa. She presides over fertility, love, and freshwater, is the patroness of the Osun River in Nigeria, and is honored annually at the Osun-Osogbo Festival.

What is Osun religion?

Oshun, also spelled Osun, an orisha (deity) of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. Oshun is commonly called the river orisha, or goddess, in the Yoruba religion and is typically associated with water, purity, fertility, love, and sensuality.

How did Osun become a river?

In Yoruba cosmology, Osun was said to have metamorphosed into a river as a result of a misunderstanding between her and “Oba”, a co-wife of Sango. The Osun River takes its source from Igede-Ekiti, flows through Ilesha to Osogbo town and empties itself in the Atlantic Ocean.

How is Osun celebrated?

The five-day event of celebrations happens in August. This Nigerian festival attracts tourists within and outside the country swarming the street of Osogbo to join the annual rites, with thousands escorting the maiden calabash bearer to the shrine to show gratitude to the Osun goddess.

Is Yoruba a religion?

Yoruba religion is the basis for a number of religions in the New World, notably Santería, Umbanda, Trinidad Orisha, Haitian Vodou, and Candomblé. Yoruba religious beliefs are part of Itàn (history), the total complex of songs, histories, stories, and other cultural concepts which make up the Yoruba society.

What is Oro in Yoruba culture?

Oro Festival is an event celebrated by towns and settlements of Yoruba origin. It is an annual traditional festival that is of patriarchal nature, as it is only celebrated by male descendants who are paternal natives to the specific locations where the particular event is taking place.

What does Oshun help with?

Oshun is both a creator and a healer. Followers call on Oshun for help with fertility and to cure ailments when medicine doesn't work. Oshun's energy can heal and create life, but she can also take it away if she feels that we are ungrateful for what she has given.

What is Osun English?

Camwood is also known as African Sandalwood or Osun in yoruba. It is a shrubby, leguminous, hard-wooded tree from Central West Africa.

Why does Oshun wear yellow?

When she came down to earth, she wore a gold dress and jewellery. This is the reason why her worshippers also wear gold and yellow attires in festivals honouring her. When the gods came down, they completely disregarded Oshun while they engaged in the work of creating the earth.

What is the story of Osun?

Osun is one of the river goddesses in Yorubaland, she is noted for providing for the needs of the people. She was reputedly one of the wives of Ṣango, the Yoruba god of thunder. The river goddess has been able to give the barren babies and change the lives of many people.

Where is the Osun Sacred Grove?

Osun-Osogbo or Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is a sacred grove along the banks of the Osun river just outside the city of Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. The Osun-Osogbo Grove is several centuries old and is among the last of the sacred forests that once adjoined the edges of most Yoruba cities before extensive urbanization.

How old is Osun?

History. The modern State of Osun was created on 27 August 1991 from part of the old Oyo State.

Who is Oya?

Oya is the goddess of storms [espressocomsaude] Oya is also associated with funerals, part of her duty is to carry the souls of the dead to the afterlife. She helps people who die transition into the afterlife and carries the souls of the dead to their final resting place.

What color is Oshun?

She is especially worshipped in river towns as she's a goddess of fresh water and the river of the same name. Her colour is yellow or ochre and her metals are gold or bronze. Her sacred animals are peacocks and vultures. I find ancient religions so fascinating and I've really enjoyed reading up about Oshun again.

How do you greet Oshun?

How do I call Oshun? To call upon Her, the proper greeting is, “Ori Ye Ye O”. She is identified with the new crescent Moon and Venus.

Who is Oshun married to?

Oshun Ibu D'Oko -- Oshun, the wife of Orisha Oko. This Oshun is pictured as a furrow to be plowed and a giant vulva, while her husband Orisha Oko is a farmer and pictured as a giant phallus. This is one of Oshun's most obviously procreative manifestations.

Is Oshun a Santería?

Oshun is an Orisha, a saint, a Black goddess of the religion Santería. In Cuba, Oshun is often pictured emerging from the river in a stunning yellow dress. Her skin is the color of honey; she represents beauty, sensuality, and love; when she dances, everyone stares.

Who is Olokun?

Olokun (Yoruba: Olókun) is an orisha spirit in Yoruba religion. Olokun is believed to be the parent of Aje, the orisha of great wealth and of the bottom of the ocean. Olokun is revered as the ruler of all bodies of water and for the authority over other water deities.