Simon Ateba –
Osun Osogbo Festival, a spiritual and cultural event which held between 11 and 22 August, was celebrated low-key this year because of fear of Ebola Virus Disease.
In past years, businesses boomed as foreign and local tourists thronged Osogbo for the festival. But this year, hotels, restaurants and recreational centres were virtually empty. Artisans, who often earned huge profits during the period, waited endlessly for buyers.
The festival is also used as an avenue to build relationships that often stretch beyond the main event. But this year, the turnout was low and the spark that characterised the previous editions, especially at the Osun Grove, was missing.
In many parts of Osogbo, ordinary people went about their activities as if nothing was taking place, even during the grand finale on 22 August. “I have nothing against the Osun Osogbo Festival, but I have to feed my family,” said Gboyega, a motorcycle rider in Osogbo.
The festival dates back to the 14th century, when a hunter called Larooye had an encounter with the goddess of the Osun River.
It is said that having come from a land of famine, Larooye discovered a huge, flowing river and decided to settle there with his kinsmen because there was abundance of water and the land was fertile. However, one day, after a tree he had cut fell into the water, Larooye heard a female voice coming from the river, threatening to destroy him and his people as punishment unless a virgin of royal blood brought sacrifices to her every year.
“It was the (voice of the) goddess,” said Ladi Soyode, a special adviser on culture and tourism in the state of Osun.
As long as they brought sacrifices, Soyole narrated, the goddess promised to bless, protect and heal the people around the Osun River. In essence, he said, she promised to satisfy all their needs as long as they kept the covenant with her.
The festival has been taking place since that time. Every year, people come from all over the world to pay homage and sick people are taken into the Osun River for healing.
However, this year, health officials were positioned at strategic locations with the mandate to detect and prevent sick people from going near the river because of the Ebola Virus Disease.
“We do not doubt the prowess of the Osun goddess, but public safety must always be taken into consideration in everything a government does,” said Soyode.
He said the low turnout was deliberate, to protect Nigerians from the virus that has killed more than a thousand people across some West African countries. “We did a lot to downplay the inflow of visitors because of the Ebola crisis that is engulfing West Africa at the moment,” he said.
Another factor that might have contributed to low turnout, said Kehinde Ola, a resident of Osun, is that the festival took place shortly after the tension-soaked governorship election in the state and many people who had anticipated that violence might break out, had left Osun and were yet to return.
But it was not all bad news. This year, the tradition continued with some innovation. For the first time, a marathon was organised in Osogbo as part of the festivities and tourism ambassadors were also introduced in every local government to promote tourism within the communities.
Equally thrilling was the dance contest organised on 21 August at the place of Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun, Larooye II, the Ataoja of Osogboland, in Osogbo. Children entertained the guests and the king was visibly delighted.
The cultural display at Freedom Park in Osogbo on 20 August was also colourful, though it was mainly attended by the local tourists and residents of Osun State.