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Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove
| Site number: | 1118 |
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| Type of site: | Cultural | |
| Date of Inscription: | 2005 | |
| Location: | Africa, Nigeria, Osogbo, Osun State | |
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| Description: | One of the last vestiges of southern Nigeria’s primary high forest is the dense Osun Sacred Grove forest that lies on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo. As the site was deemed the dwelling of the fertility goddess Osun, from the pantheon of Yoruba gods, the grove’s landscape and its winding river have been sprinkled with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and art works honouring Osun and the other Yoruba deities. Almost certainly the last sacred grove in Yoruba culture, the Grove is at present perceived as the Yoruba people’s symbol of identity. It demonstrates the once extensive practice of creating sacred groves outside all settlements. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. | |
| Ọṣun-Oṣogbo or Ọṣun-Oṣogbo Sacred Grove is a sacred forest along the banks of the Ọṣun river just outside the city of Oṣogbo, Nigeria. The Ọṣun-Oṣogbo Grove is among the last of the sacred forests which usually adjoin the edges of most Yoruba cities before extensive urbanization. In recognition of its global significance and its cultural value, the Ọṣun-Oṣogbo Sacred Grove was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. | ||
| Source: | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1118 | |
| Reference: | 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page. | |