Sacred grove of the goddess Osun
| Holy grove of the goddess Oshun in Oshogbo | |
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UNESCO world heritage 
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| Temple of Oshun near Oshogbo |
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| National territory: |
 Nigeria
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| Type: | Culture |
| Criteria : | ii, iii, vi |
| Surface: | 75 ha |
| Reference No .: | 1118 |
| UNESCO region : | Africa |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 2005 (session 29) |
The sacred grove of the goddess Osun is located on the outskirts of the city of Oshogbo in Nigeria . It is considered to be the home of Oshogbo's patron deity, Oshun, and consists de facto of several groves, each of which is dedicated to individual deities of the Yoruba . At the end of the 1950s, the Austrian artist Susanne Wenger began working with local artists to decorate the grove with new types of sculptures and shrines. Since 2005 he is part of the UNESCO - World Heritage Site .
World Heritage
The UNESCO justifies the choice as a world cultural heritage with the successful integration of the artistic work of Susanne Wenger into the culture of the Yoruba and the revitalization of the Yoruba religion that followed. Wenger came to Oshogbo in 1959 and started there with her husband Ulli Beier and the Yoruba dramaturge Duro Ladipo to set up an artist and theater group. Her life's work is the redesign of the Oshun grove as a kind of architecture-sculpture-nature total work of art on the banks of the Oshun River . At the beginning of 2009, Susanne Wenger died at the age of 94 in Oshogbo.
literature
- Beier, Ulli. 1968. Contemporary African Art. London, Praeger
- Beier, Ulli. 1975. The Return of the Gods. Cambridge University Press
- Probst, Peter: 2009. Yoruba Heritage as Project, Reauthenticating the Osun Grove in Osogbo, Nigeria. African Arts, Vol. 42/4, pp. 24-37
- Probst, Peter: 2009. Modernism against Modernity. A tribute to Susanne Wenger. Critical Interventions, Journal of African Art History and Visual Culture, No.3 / 4, 245-255
- Probst, Peter. 2011. Osogbo and the Art of Heritage. Monuments, Deities, and Money. Bloomington: Indiana University Press
- Wenger, Susanne & Gert Chesi: 1980. Susanne Wenger - A life with the gods. Perlinger
- Oṣogbo Cultural Heritage Council: Oṣun Oṣogbo Festival (Sacred People & Sacred Places), Oṣogbo 1992 (?)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Data from Susanne Wenger: Weblog Susanne Wenger
- ↑ See Peter Probst (2009). Modernism against Modernity. A tribute to Susanne Wenger. Critical Interventions, Journal of African Art History and Visual Culture, No.3 / 4, 245-255
Web links
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Oyeronke Olabuju. "The Place of Susan Wenger's Art in Yoruba Religion: A Preliminary Survey,"
Cultural Heritage: Sukur Cultural Landscape (1999) | Sacred grove of the goddess Oshun in Oshogbo (2005)
Coordinates: 7 ° 45 ′ 20 ″ N , 4 ° 33 ′ 8 ″ E