Nigeria, the land of plenty

Dancing away at Iya Osun's birthday Green, yellow, beige were the official colours of Iya Osun’s birthday celebrations at the Oba’s palace. Green oval patterns, that reminded one of the skeleton of a sphere, were printed on the cloth that was used for dresses and the hair gear, the gele. As we entered the Oba’s compound, a hundred meters away from the junction of Osogbo’s central mosque, talking drums were happily providing a swinging call for dances and occasionally a welcome call to newcomers, that could involve the spelling out of the guests' names, in the hope that money would be sprayed on the drummers: blessings are always meant to be rewarded. The celebration took place in the lower courtyard of the palace, next to the red walls of a shrine decorated with white, black and orange designs. the colourful shrine at the palace of the Oba of Osogbo As usual, marquees had been erected, in a corner, for people to seat and have food and dri...

a corner of the suspended lake on Ado Hill My eyes set on a diamond incrusted gold purse embossed with a dollar sign which was dangling around Otun's neck at the end of a gold chain. Were these real gold and real diamonds? I did not dare asking. Otun wore a very bright suit, a kaleidoscope of violet, green and orange. He also had a traditional dark pink and violet yoruba aso-oke hat, a necklace and a bracelet of deep red beads to mark his chieftaincy in Ado Awaye. Otun was the youngest of the three Chiefs who had gathered to greet us at the residence of the Alado (local king) of Ado Awaye, somewhere between Abeokuta and Iseyin in Ogun state. Otun's golden purse Aro, the second Chief, was dressed in a light blue traditional suit embroided with beige flowers and turquoise leaves, a yellow Yoruba hat and beige leather mocassins. Next to them sat the an older man with an impaired eye.  Balogun was wearing an ample green suit assorted to...

a divine creature from Suzanne Wenger's last work (detail from Odi) Nature is green, leaves are happily growing on trees and in the bush following the recent rains. The sacred grove in Osogbo feels like an impenetrable forest after the dry season which had cleared a lot of foliage to form a soft blanket under one's feet and fertilise the soil. The river Osun snakes its way through the grove, silently and somewhat lazily, conveying a deep sense of peace spiced-up by the appearance of the artworks hidden throughout the grove. The reinforced concrete sculptures erected through the grove by Suzanne Wenger and her team now appear like fantastic creatures in the forest. A few works are visible from the road that traverses the grove, but secrecy and mystery is essential to traditional spirituality, so many of them are located in remote corners of the grove because these representations of Yoruba divinities require their own privacy, their own corner to be properly  interacted w...

walking to the Agidan Hill Oke Agidan (Agidan hill) is located near Oyo town. It is a dome-shaped rock which dominates the flat land around it. The land belongs to the Alaafin of Oyo and for a while it was not permitted to cultivate it. Nowadays things are changing and the rock is surrounded by fields of cassava and yam. Fortunately, a few trees remain standing and give the landscape some allure. The rock itself is host to several shrines dedicated to various yoruba divinities. Once a year, around April, a large pilgrimage takes place. The starting point of the pilgrimage is a grove where multiple tents have been erected to offer pilgrims food, drinks and ritual items such as kola nuts, bitter-kola nuts, some plastic beads bracelets (almond green and brown) or Ifa chains (mix of nuts and beads) for divination. Oya, buy my nuts! Pilgrims are coming all the way from Oyo town on motorbikes, mini-buses, cars, some possibly walk. Drums are providing rhythm to the place. An ecle...