The Sacred Grove of Osun
On the edge of a Nigerian city, a dense forest along a river belongs to a goddess, and its paths are lined with strange, towering sculptures.
What was reported
The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is one of the last stretches of old high forest in southern Nigeria, along the Osun River. It's the home of Osun, the Yoruba goddess of fresh water, fertility and healing. Tradition says she met the founders of Osogbo here and promised to protect the town if they kept the grove.
From the 1950s, the Austrian-born artist Susanne Wenger, who became a Yoruba priestess, worked with local artists to rebuild its shrines, filling the forest with huge sculptures of gods and spirits. Every August, crowds follow a procession to the river for the Osun-Osogbo festival.
Explanations offered
The goddess and her promise belong to a living faith. The grove itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, protected both as a sacred place and as rare forest, and visitors are asked to respect its shrines.
- When
- Sacred for centuries
- Where
- Osogbo, Osun, Nigeria
- Witnesses
- Yoruba worshippers, and visitors to the festival every August
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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