Nigerian Field Society
Trip to: Osogbo
Date: 19-20 July 2008
Trip leader: Paulette van Trier
On Saturday 19 June 2008, over a dozen NFS members waited eagerly at EKO hotel for the departure to Osogbo.
Luckily the third mainland bridge maintenance work was postponed to August but we still spent a little over four hours to arrive at Osogbo. Our first stop was at Nike’s Guest House, where we checked into our respective rooms and had our lunch break after the long journey. Whilst the Guest House accommodation is quite basic, it has a beautiful garden where you can enjoy your breakfast under the sun and enjoy a nice stroll, a luxury that denies us in busy cosmopolitan Lagos.
Osogbo is the capital city of Osun State and is famous in arts and sculptures. Situated on the outskirts of Osogbo town lies the infamous Sacred Groves of Osogbo, a vast area of unspoilt nature serving as a sanctuary for the Orisha - the Yoruba gods in the traditional concept. The groves in Osogbo are the home of Oshun - the goddess of "the waters of life as well as the abode of the goddess of fertility Oshun, one of the pantheons of Yoruba gods.
We joined a 2-hour guided walk in the groves that gave us an interesting perspective into the culture and religion of Yoruba people. The landscape of the grove and its meandering river is dotted with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and art works in honour of Osun and other deities.
We were also very surprised to find many beautiful, enigmatic and enormous sculptures that are well preserved in the groves. It is here that we were introduced to the amazing conservation efforts of Suzanne Wenger and her iconic work of art that has integrated with nature, now protecting it. These sculptures, some to the height of a four-storey building represented Suzanne’s effort to immortalize and celebrate the Gods of Orisha. We completed our tour at Suzanne’s first home in the Sacred Groves.
Our next stop was at Suzanne’s existing abode, situated in the town of Osogbo itself. It is a very artistic and gorgeous place. The house is distinctly different from other buildings in the vicinity. The fence, door, staircase, and pillars are all intricately carved with sculptures that set it apart from the mundane brick and clay buildings of its neighbours. Downstairs we saw many jovial children apparently being tutored in the subject of arts in the In her room upstairs, metal-works, sculptures of wood and of stone, house too. and paintings clustered in the middle calling out for attention in an otherwise dimly lit room.
To many in Osogbo, Suzanne is affectionately called “Mama”. She is bestowed the title of Adunni (adored one) for dedicating almost all her life (since 1950s) to preserving the shrine and in the process creating a national landmark in Nigeria – Sacred Groves of Osogbo, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. At 93, she still looks healthy in her Adire outfit and kindly entertained our many questions. Her simple answer to the question about “which piece of sculpture in the groves is her favourite” struck me on how closely her life is intertwined with the rites and culture of Orisha – she replied: “How do you choose between the Gods?”
On the way back, we stopped at Nike Art Gallery. A 2-storey building inside which displays the work of Nike and her students. Nike was still stuck in the traffic in Ibadan so our tour of the workshop had to wait till the next day.
Back at the Nike Guest House we had an hour break before dinner. Our day did not end with drinks and food. Instead, we were entertained with cultural dance troupe performance after dinner. We were certainly amazed at how agile and acrobatic the dancers were. We were introduced to “Pasting” an act of appreciation for the performers during the dance performance by pasting money onto their heads. It was fun! Highlight was when we were invited to join in the dance. Some of our NFS members made an admirable attempt to mimic the rear-moving act of some dancers. Hilarious but nonetheless was well rewarded with pasting too!
The next day started off with a wonderful English breakfast at the garden and by 9am we were whisked off to Nike Centre for Art and Culture. This place was opened in 1983 by Nike in order to create jobs for young Nigerians and encourage Nigerian women in the subject of arts. Nike explained that the Centre sometimes even feed and accommodate industrial trainee students free of charge, funded by the profits from the sale of items at the shop.
Here we saw contemporary Osogbo arts in painting, designs, batik, and metal and wood sculptures. Over at the workshop we were introduced to the traditional cloth making of Batik and Tie & Dye. It is commonly known as Adire - indigo dyed cloth produced by Yoruba women using a variety of resist dye techniques.
Our next stop was the palace of Oba Adeen, Oludo of Ido-Osun to witness the Chieftaincy ceremony of High Chief Paulette Van Trier. Chief Paulette was bestowed the highest title of Iyolade for her great contributions to the development of Osun. The ceremony started with a warm welcome by His Highness Oba Adeen that reaffirms Osogbo as a home to all of us from different parts of the world. The ceremony was short and full of boisterous music provided by the skilled drums men. Later Oba Adeen granted the Nigerian Field Society a private audience and even offered us an acre of free land each if we wish to build a home in Osogbo! I am not so sure about taking up his offer just now but perhaps will be kicking myself in a decade for not doing so when Osogbo is well developed!
The journey was quickly coming to an end by 1pm. We departed Osogbo after a quick lunch out at the garden again at N ike Guest House and got
back to Lagos after a 3-hour bus journey without much traffic jam. It was a tiring journey but I dare say has been one of the best weekend getaways in Nigeria by far made all the better by our wonderful Chief Paulette. Verdict on Osogbo - Highly recommended!
