The popular Osun Osogbo festival is set to from August 1-29, 2022 in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
The festival is an annual event that is usually celebrated in August at a sacred grove, to worship Osun, the Yoruba goddess of fertility. The festival is believed to renew the contract between humans and deities.
A huge tourist attraction, the festival is usually attended by tourists from all over the world, as well as Osun worshippers.
Events lined up for the festival include the traditional cleansing of Osogbo, which is known as ‘Iwopopo’, on August 1, followed by the lighting of the 500-year-old six-point lamp called ‘Atupa oloju merindinlogun’ which comes up three days after the cleansing of the land.
‘Bibo Ade Oba Osogbo’, which is meant to honour past kings of Osogbo is slated for August 8, 2022.
On August 11 is the ‘Dida Ifa arugba’, where a young virgin woman (arugba) of a royal lineage, offers sacrifices to the deity.
This will be followed by the ‘Dida Ifa Arugba’, while the festival will end with the ‘Osun Ajigun’ on August 29, 2022.