My Favourite Festival and How it is Celebrated [OSUN Festival] by @dayographix

I want to use this opportunity to thank @Steempakistan for their awesome initiative . I'm excited to take part in the week 2 contest, My name is Fatai Ekundayo ,I'm from Osun State Nigeria and Oshogbo to be precisely , Today, I will be sharing my favourite Religious festival in this great community, @steemitpakistan. lets begin!

The History/Origin of Easter Festival

Home is the best place to be, o! When I hear people discovering the depth and beauty of Nigeria's rich culture, such as the Osun-Osogbo Festival, it makes me happy. The Yoruba people regard Osun-Osogbo to be their most important annual religious celebration. Every year in August, the event draws onlookers and devotees from all over the world. Osun is the goddess of fertility, spirituality, emotions, sensuality, nurture, and love, among other things.

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Around 600 years ago, the event began. It was founded by the Osogbo community's founders. According to legend, the founders wanted to clear all of the trees in the area to make way for habitation. A ghost from the river-god Osun ordered them away as soon as they started chopping trees. For the devotees, the location quickly became a sacred place of worship. Osun is frequently shown as a beautiful woman clad in white or yellow, with a lovely smile but a wounded heart. During the festival, people placate the goddess with various acts such as drumming, singing, and dancing on a daily basis for two weeks. People display their costumes throughout the singing and dancing.

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A sacred woodland on the outskirts of Osogbo is said to be one of the places where "Orisha," the ghost who is said to bless them, manifests itself. Arugba, a virgin maiden who serves as a link between the community and the deity, leads the devotees. All sacrifices offered in the river are led by the virgin maiden. The Arugba (virgin maiden) brings all of the community's sacrifices (flowers, honey, gold, etc.) as well as those in attendance. These sacrifices must be transported in a large calabash, according to tradition. Before all of this, the worshippers give a particular prayer in a priestess' shrine.

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The Osun-Osogbo Festival is a worldwide event. It appeals to foreign visitors who regard it as a cultural and religious link. The bulk of Orisha believers are from Cuba, Yugoslavia, and Slovenia. Foreigners have freely admitted the significance of this occasion over the years. The majority of them have expressed their thanks after receiving blessings on social media and television outlets. When Nigeria was a British colony, missionaries attempted but failed to eradicate animist beliefs. Human sacrifice was a part of the ceremonies during the period. The authorities, on the other hand, wiped this out.

How Osun Festival is being Celebrated.
August is a month of celebration for the inhabitants of Osogbo land in modern times, with the traditional cleansing of the city and the cultural reunion of the people with their ancestors, the Osogbo Kingdom's founders. the Osun-Osogbo Festival takes place over two weeks. The traditional purification of Osogbo is known as 'Iwopopo,' and it is followed by the lighting of the 500-year-old sixteen-point lamp known as 'Ina Olojumerindinlogun' after three days. Then there's the 'Iboriade,' which is an aggregation of past monarchs' crowns, the Ataojas of Osogbo, for blessings.

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The Festival concludes with a march to the sacred grove's shrine, where a big throng gathers. Drumming, dancing, musical performances, ornate costumes, Yoruba language speaking, praise poetry recital, and other activities add pomp and color to the events. The sitting Ataoja of Osogbo (King of Osogbo), along with a ritualized performer known as the Arugba and a committee of priestesses, lead this event, which reenacts Oluwatimilehin's first meeting with Yeye Osun. Arugba, who is played by a young woman from a kingly family, is the one who makes the sacrifice to the god.

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In Conclusion Tourists from all over the country flock to Osogbo to participate in the annual festivities, with thousands escorting the maiden calabash bearer to the shrine to express appreciation to the Osun goddess. I want to use this opportunity to invite all steemit friends @whitestallion, @ngoenyi @goodybest and @swaylee etc.

Thanks for Reading