2026-10-09T10:21:38+00:00 Zend_Feed_Writer https://www.nigeria.archivingafrica.com/ Nigerian Cultural Heritage https://www.nigeria.archivingafrica.com 2020-11-18T01:58:50+00:00 2022-08-02T00:15:47+00:00 https://www.nigeria.archivingafrica.com/items/show/327 Andrew Devlin There are countless artifacts scattered throughout abandoned Yorubaland. Sacred Groves were created by the Yoruba. These Sacred Groves were built in every town throughout Yoruba communities. The Yoruba population numbers just under fifty million people. Over time many of these Sacred Groves were affected by the urbanization of local areas. Without continuous upkeep of the Sacred Groves, much of them are very hard to recognize. Osogbo is the capital of the Osun State. The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is located here. The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is still revered, and is the largest Sacred Grove to have survived. The last remnants of the primary high forest is found in the dense forest of the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove. The grove is named after the river goddess Osun. forty shrines were built in the forest along the meandering river. These shrines included artworks and sculptures. Mostly created in the past forty years, the Osun Sacred Grove contains nine worship points, five sacred places and two palaces. The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is very different from most other groves throughout the Yoruba community. The Grove is “defended” by the goddess of entrepreneurship. Since it was built recently, it includes a large twentieth century sculpture that was built to strengthen the connection between the Yoruba pantheon and people. In the Shrine there is a stone stool that is over five hundred years old. The restoration of the grove had a major impact on the Yoruba people. The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is now the highest sacred grove for the Yoruba people. Worship in constantly taking place at this grove. A festival that occurs every year takes place at the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove. This festival reconnects bonds between people of the town and the goddess. The festival lasts twelve days in July and August. The grove also has another very special role. Within the grove are around four hundred different species of plants. About two hundred of these plants are used in herbal medicine in the surrounding community. The grove is around seventy five hectares. “The sacred grove, which is now seen as a symbol of identity for all Yoruba people, is probably the last in Yoruba culture". The Yoruba folklore explains the goddess of fertility named Osun, and the story of Osun is very interesting. There was a fight between one of the wives of “Sango '' and Osun which led her to change herself into the River Osun. The deity is considered to live in the river which still makes the grove sacred. The grove is said to have been discovered by an elephant hunter. Osun then made a deal with the people which he vowed to protect the people only if they built a shrine for her and to also protect the grove. The belief in Osun and the shrine is very strong and deep within the Yoruba culture. Annually at a Osun festival, the amount of people that attend exceeds one hundred thousand. Many bring offerings and carry out sacrifices for Osun. If women were barren they would often visit the Osun shrine for blessings. The Grove was declared a national monument in 1965, and all 75 hectares are protected under the Nigerian Cultural Policy of 1988. For more (including 5 images), view the original article. 2020-11-08T17:03:16+00:00 2022-08-02T00:31:29+00:00 https://www.nigeria.archivingafrica.com/items/show/325 Andrew Devlin The city of Arochukwu, is one of the biggest cities in the Abia State, Nigeria. The Long Juju Shrine is located in Arochukwu. This shrine is full of beauty and is known for its important history. The Long Juju Shrine was used to judge criminals for the crimes they commited. During the Atlantic slave trade era, the Long JuJu Shrine was at the height of its power. “At the height of its powers was the most powerful deity in Igboland”. The Shrine was controlled by a chief and members of the cult. This is the main oracular shrine of Ibn Ukpabi and by which stands as if on guard the cult statute of Kamalu "the warrior god". The interworking of the Shrine was very complex. The person at trial walked into the temple complex and prepared to face judgment from the god called Chukwu. The throne of judgment was located inside the Shrine complex, also known as the dark presence. If one was found guilty they would have to walk into the dark tunnels. If one was found innocent they were brought back to their relatives. The Long Juju Shrine acted as a final judgment and a supreme court. There were no appeals to the decisions made in the Shrine. As one would be found guilty, they were told to strip of their clothes as they made their way into the tunnels. The clothes of the guilty created the “hill of rags”. The Long Juju Shrine is also connected to the slave trade. As those found guilty disappeared into the dark tunnels a red color was shown in a stream of water nearby. This would show relatives that their guilty relative was killed as punishment. What would really happen was totally different. The tunnels that the guilty would walk through were a kilometer long. Instead of being killed, the guilty were led down to the end of the tunnels. At the end of the tunnels were boats waiting to take the guilty to Calabar. This is when the guilty became slaves. The Long Juju Shrine conducted its role in the slave trade during the 17th century up until the 19th century. During the British assault along and around the River Niger, the Long Juju Shrine became very important for the surrounding kingdoms. As many tribes and kingdoms fell to the British, the Shrine brought communities together. The shrine became an apex court for peoples east of the Niger river. The influence that the Shrine had on people grew very large during this time. As the Long Juju Shrine was at its peak, some members of the Shrine moved to other kingdoms and communities to the south, which grew the influence of the Long Juju. The amount of slaves being trafficked through the Long Juju Shrine was at its peak during this time. Due to the vast influence the Shrine had reached, guilty peoples from dozens of communities were brought from far lands up to the Long Juju for judgement. With huge amounts of profits coming in, the cult used this to set up satellite shrines in far communities. This brought in even more revenue due to the higher number of people that were sold as slaves. “With the Long Juju network already established, trading posts and slave quarters with satellite shrines were set up in different villages all over the region.” For more (including 3 images), view the original article.