Osun River
| Tributary | Erinle River  |
|---|---|
| Country | Nigeria |
| Edey de administrative territorial entity insyd | Osun State |
| Coordinate location | 8°20′0″N 5°16′0″E, 8°20′0″N 5°16′0″E, 6°33′48″N 4°3′43″E, 6°33′48″N 4°3′43″E |
De Oṣun River (dem samtimes spell Oshun, Yoruba: Odò Ọ̀ṣun), be a river of Yorubaland wey dey rise insyd Ekiti State wey e dey flow westwards into Osun State before turning southwestwards at ein confluence plus de Erinle River near de town of Ede wey then dey head south at de Asejire reservoir wey dey flow thru de rest of de state den Ogun State insyd Southwestern Nigeria before eventually discharging into de Lekki Lagoon den de Atlantic at de Gulf of Guinea.
Dem name de river after de deity Oṣun, one of de most popular den venerated Orishas.[1] De annual traditional worship at de Ọṣun Shrine near de Ọṣun River at Osogbo cam be a popular pilgrimage den important tourist attraction, wey dey draw people from all over Nigeria den abroad to de annual festival insyd August.
Oṣun be one of de river goddesses insyd Yorubaland, she be noted for providing for de needs of de people. As a mortal, na she be reputedly one of de wifeys of ̣Ṣango, de Alaafin of Oyo den de Yoruba god of thunder. Dem say Osun to be a native of Igede-Ekiti, headquarters of Irepodun/Ifelodun local government area, Ekiti state, Nigeria hence ein main source dey situate at Igede-Ekiti. Osun, third kiddie of de marriage between Ake (a hunter den prince from Ile-Ife) den Erindo (Ake ein wifey) wey sanso go give birth to fifteen more kiddies wey dey include de popular Rivers Ogbese den Elemi. While na Ogbese be de brand legend of de old Afrikola, Elemi river continue to adorn de beauty of dema land. Osun, de second wifey of Alaafin Ṣango, turn to a river after she loose insyd de contest of who go succeed dema poppie, Ake. Insyd de olden days during war times, na dem consider incantation de most potent form of weapon. Hence, de smartest den de very vast one wey dey carry de day. Na "Igede" be a derivative of "Ogede"- wey dey mean incantation den finally cam be "Igede" by nominalisation. So, "Ilè Ògèdè anaa Igede dey mean de land of incantation. Igede-Ekiti be home to more dan sixteen rivers, wey na dem no prove otherwise by anybro anaa any documents say no river dey flow into Igede-Ekiti from anywhere. Instead, rivers dey flow from Igede-Ekiti to oda towns den places. E be an old belief say de river goddess be able to give babies to de barren women den change de lives of chaw people.[2] Der sanso be chaw fictional stories about goddess Oṣun, wey dey include Shegun Coker and the Cursed Temple by Kolawole Michael, 2008.[3]
Insyd 2018, de river suddenly begin to change color den investigation by Urban Alert (a civic-tech nonprofit organization) reveal say illegal den unregulated licensed gold mining activities at de headwaters upper course be de root cause.[4] De activities of dese miners contaminate de river plus heavy metals, thereby threatening de river den de Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Murrell, Nathaniel Samuel (2009). Afro-Caribbean Religions: An Introduction to Their Historical, Cultural, and Sacred Traditions. Temple University Press. ISBN 9781439901755.
- ↑ Katen Tate (2005). Sacred Places of Goddess: 108 Destinations. CCC Publishing. p. 132. ISBN 9781888729177.
- ↑ Joseph M. Murphy, Mei-Mei Sanford (2001). Osun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas. Indiana University Press. p. 10. ISBN 9780253108630.
- ↑ "INVESTIGATION: How illegal mining fuels poverty, river pollution, sacred grove desecration in Osun". TheCable (in American English). 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
External links
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