The 2021 edition of the annual Osun Osogbo Festival commenced on Monday with the traditional cleansing of pathways, otherwise known as Iwopopo, in Osogbo.
The event, which was held at the popular Gbaemu Junction, saw Osun devotees and chiefs paying homage to the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, amid drumming and dancing.
Oba Oyetunji, who later led the Osogbo Cultural Heritage Council, traditional chiefs, worshippers, devotees, government officials and residents of Osogbo in a symbolic cleansing of the city, marched through designated routes, after which different age and social groups, communities and titled chiefs paid homage to the king seated in the centre of town.
Other key activities to mark this year’s festival include the lighting of the 500-year-old 16-point lamp, called Ina Olojumerindinlogun, slated for Thursday, August 5; Iboriade, a unique assemblage and display of the crowns of the past Ataojas of Osogbo, for blessings, which will come up on August 9.
The grand finale of the festival, according to the organisers, would be streamed live for local and international audience of Osogbo indigenes, Osun devotees, worshippers and Yoruba culture enthusiasts in diaspora.
