the sacred grove of Osogbo

Alajogun-Alajere-Obluaye

Osogbo is one of the few touristic destinations in Nigeria to be highlighted in western travel guides. This is because an austrian artist, Suzanne Wenger, came to Nigeria in the sixties and decided to stay in Osogbo for the rest of her life as she became a yoruba high priest under the name of Adunni. She worked with her then boyfriend Ulli Beier to create concrete and iron sculptures in the sacred grove of Osogbo, a wood on a hill traversed by a river. The place is a sacred place of worship to Yoruba gods.

Oshun along the river

Suzanne Wenger passed away in 2009 but the grove is still standing. Her work has been restored recently and is attracting visitors from around the globe. There is a festival in the last week of August with traditional celebrations that gathers most of the tourist in the year.

the palace

The grove hosts a palace with a thatched roof and walls of mud painted with basic shapes in white, yellow and dark red. A mix of dots, curved lines and simple representations of living creatures. The roof is supported by the walls and a series of pillars creating a covered outer pathway. On the front side, the pillars are replaced by wooden column sculpted with Yoruba gods piled one on top of the over. The palace is not opened to visitors. The surrounding walls of the palace grounds is decorated with figures, faces, body shapes, representations of gods of the Yorubas. Inside the ground were shrines for rituals to specific gods.

I am the wall

Outside the palace grounds were several groups of sculptures designed by Wenger.

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