By JOSHUA OLADIPO/OLAJIDE IDOWU

Hundreds of foreign tourists were on Friday present at the Osun-Osogbo grove for the grand finale celebration of the festival.

Reports that the tourists from the United Kingdom, Romania, Croatia, and other countries claimed that they were attracted to the annual event because of its cultural values.

A tourist from the United Kingdom, Mrs Polyna Lupine, said that the significance of the festival was enormous due to its cultural values.

Lupine said her visit to the grove was to learn more about the uniqueness of the Yoruba culture.

“I have been reading a lot about the Osun-Osogbo festival, and it is such an opportunity for me to know what it is today.

“The people of Nigeria are wonderful, and their culture is rich with beautiful traditions and culture.

“My coming here is an opportunity for me to meet with different people, participate in the festival, and to see the Osun river myself,” she said.

Similarly, Mrs. Maltina Segei, a tourist from Croatia, said she was happy to be part of the grand finale of the festival.

Segei said that she had read books and literature about the grove but was happy to see the river and its worshippers.

Another tourist from Romania, John Baron, said that it was good to see Nigerian culture and to understand its tradition.

“The people and devotees of the Osun river are friendly, and I see a special atmosphere with a deeper Nigerian culture,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Osun government said it would continue to promote and support the Osun-Osogbo festival.

The Commissioner for Tourism, Mr Abiodun Ojo, said this in an interview with NAN at the grand finale of the Osun-Osogbo festival.

Ojo said the state government ensured that facilities within the grove were rehabilitated and reconstructed before the grand finale of the festival.

He said Gov. Ademola Adeleke also directed the renovation of the grove pavilion, roads leading to the grove, and other infrastructure within the grove for easy access by visitors.

“We will not relent in supporting the annual event, which is globally recognised by UNESCO, and we are proud to be the host.

The Osun goddess has been able to protect us over the years, and a pact between her devotees and the goddess is what we are celebrating.

The goddess has been able to make the state a wonderland and a place to behold,” he said.

The commissioner commended tourists and devotees at the festival for their peaceful conduct.

Food vendors and plastic keg sellers took advantage of the festival to make brisk business.

The traders gathered at Isale-Osun and the entrance to the Osun-Osogbo grove, where they displayed their goods for sale to tourists attending the festival.

Ayomide Ganiyu, a plastic keg seller, told NAN that the demand for plastic kegs by devotees for fetching water at the Osun river was always high during the festival.

Ganiyu said those attending the festival always want to fetch water from the Osun river before going back, hence the reason for its demand.

“I always finish selling all my kegs anytime there is Osun-Osogbo, especially when the Arugba visits the river,” she said.

She said a 5kg keg goes for N600 and sells a 2.5kg keg for N500.

The event, which started on July 28, is expected to end with a young maiden, Arugba (a virgin female girl), with a calabash on her head as a symbolic sacrifice to the river goddess.

NAN reports that the Osun-Osogbo festival, whose history dates back many centuries, is usually celebrated in a grove on the outskirts of Osogbo between July and August.

It is among the last of the sacred forests that adjoined the edges of most Yoruba cities before extensive urbanisation.

In recognition of its global significance and cultural value, the Sacred Grove was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

For the people of Osogbo land, the festival represents the traditional cleansing of the town and the cultural reunion of the people with their ancestors and founders of the Osogbo Kingdom. (NAN)

•Devotees and participants offer sacrifices and prayers to the Osun river goddess and collect water from the sacred river during the Osun-Osugbo Festival in Osogbo