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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Emebiriodo Ugochukwu and Emmanuel Akinwotu

Sacred ground: the ancient grove where Yoruba traditions are reborn

Muslim Nigeria Pollution
Worshippers gather at the edge of the Osun River offering gifts and prayers to the goddess Osun
Worshippers gather at the edge of the Osun River offering gifts and prayers to the goddess Osun Photograph: Emebirodo Ugochukwu/The Guardian

Through the dim forest, a slow procession of hundreds of people largely dressed in white, some in a trance, others singing fervently, heads towards the Osun River. As they have every August for 700 years, Yoruba people gather here at the Osun-Osogbo sacred grove, a Unesco world heritage site in south-west Nigeria, for an ancient festival celebrating their traditional spirituality.

An Osun priestess on her way to the grove.
An Osun priestess on her way to the grove. Photograph: Emebiriodo Ugochukwu/The Guardian
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The Guardian - UK
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