Oshun "The Undergoddess"



Yeye Oshun of Oniru Land & group (picture by me)



Yeye Oshun of Oniru Land (picture by me)







Yeye Oshun & Arugba (pix by me



Yeye Oshun, Arugba and children (pix by me)



An interview with Yeye Oshun of Iruland.

BY FELICIA AMOS

Who really is Yeye Osun?

I am Chief Olori Adijatu Kubura, the Iya Osun of Iruland, Eti-Osa LGA Lagos and I worship osun, its my calling! (laughs)

What is Osun and how did it started?

Osun, in the Yoruba religion, is an Undergoddess who reigns over love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy. She is worshipped also in Brazilian Candomblé Ketu, with the name spelled Oxum. Osun is beneficent, generous and very kind. She does, however, have a horrific temper, one which she seldom ever loses but which causes untold destruction whenever she does. Osun is said to have gone to a drum festival one day and to have fallen in love with the king-dancer Shango, Undergod of lightning & thunder. Since that day, Shango has been married to Oba, Oya, and Osun, though Osun is said to be considered his principal wife.

How did osun came to limelight

Like I said earlier Osun has being in existence for many centuries now and its practice is being pass-on from one generation to the other. When I had a calling from osun I had to succumb to it; it well known to most people because is no more a hidden secret. Its being practiced all over the world.

In Nigeria Osogbo is the venue of the annual Osun-Osogbo festival along the River Osun. The festival is centered around the sacred grove of the river goddess Ọsun. Osogbo was founded around early 18th century by hunters from a nearby village which was suffering from famine. The hunters decided to move a few of their family members to the lower terraces of a nearby river, the river Osun. One of the hunters, Larooye, became the first King of Osogbo, as one of the initial builders of the small settlement. Since then Osogbo has increased in population largely due migration from other Yoruba towns and the movement to the river of Osun.

When did you started practicing Osun?

I started practicing osun about 15 years ago I met it in this world, my forefathers practiced it, I was born into it because my mother was Yeye Osun (mother of water) in her time. It is this osun worship that our mother and father used in sending us to school and catering for our needs. We have not seen nor heard that Osun destroys good thing. I have used it to build houses, buy cars, landed property… its really very lucrative. Inititally I was a bit reluctant in yielding to osun’s calling but as soon as I yielded, things turned around for me.

What are the importance of Osun in Yoruba Culture?

According to the Yoruba elders, Osun is the "unseen mother present at every gathering", because Osun is the Yoruba understanding of the cosmological forces of water, moisture, and attraction. Therefore, she is believed to be omnipresent and omnipotent. Her power is represented in another Yoruba proverb which reminds us that "no one is an enemy to water" and therefore everyone has need of and should respect and revere Osun, as well as her followers. Osun is the force of harmony. Harmony which we see as beauty, feel as love, and experience as ecstasy. She, according to the ancients, was the only female Irunmole amongst the original 16 sent from the spirit realm to create the world. As such, she is revered as "Yeye" - the great mother of us all. When the male Irunmole attempted to subjugate Osun due to her femaleness, she removed her divine energy (called ase by the Yoruba) from the project of creating the world and all subsequent efforts at creation were in vain. It was not until visiting with the Supreme Being, Olodumare, and begging for Osun's pardon (as advised by Olodumare) that the world could continue to be created. But not before Osun had given birth to a son. This son became Elegba, the great conduit of ase in the Universe, the eternal and infernal trickster. Osun is known as Iyalode, the "(explicitly female) chief of the market." She is also known as Laketi, she who has ears, because of how quickly and effectively she answers prayers.

How does osun help people?

There’s nobody that will wake up in the morning without taking water. Osun itself in water. Even if you are a pastor, imam or herbalist you cannot do without water. The Oluweri/mammy water is the god living under water and they help people solve their problems.when you are using water it is believed that u are using osun. Even when you are dehydrated it is osun you need to replenish yourself.

Do people really believed its existence?

From all over the world many people knows you cannot do without water in your life. But it seems some people don’t have a deep understanding about it. We know water is water but Oluweri, mammy water and all other white gods lives in water. Like some people will say dreamt swimming in water which symbolize that they ancestral inclination with Osun. Some believe it and others don’t believe in the existence and potency of osun we don’t have to force anybody to join the worship/practice because when osun reveals itself to them they will be convinced it is where they belong. Osun has had many husbands. Different tales attribute husbands to her, including Erinle, Oshosi, Orisha Oko, and Aje'-Shaluga. She is also the sexual partner of Shango and Ogun at different points. Her children include the Ibeji twins, Idowu, and Logun Ede

You were given an award recently…? Tell us about it.

(smiles) Yes I received an award recently. The Association of African Tradition Religion (AATREN) award is to appreciate my effort, good work and perseverance in my practice. Good things does not come easily and this is the 12th year anniversary we started the association. Eti-osa LGA came together to give the award to crown my efforts.

Are you the only Yeye Osun in Eti-Osa LGA?

No. there are other osun worship in this local government but am their matron. We do some “Etutu” (sacrifice) together to appease osun when need be and we also have our annual meeting apart from the annual general Osun Oshogbo meeting where osun worshipers from different part of Nigeria even beyond. Besides that, as the Yeye osun of this LGA I have lot of responsibilities on my shoulder and I also hear from Osun to before holding any meeting.

How do you unwind?

I travel at times to Dubai, France, London to mention but few. I go there to relax and do some shopping and come back to Nigeria . I travel only when osun tells me to.

Any word of advice ?

I want people to know that practicing osun is not only for the uneducated. You can be an educated osun worshiper in as much as you have a calling from osun

(Mr. Monsuru one of osun’s worshipper… testifies)

What brought you here?

I am Monsuru by name, I have worked in Beecham company before I lost my job few years back. I had a lot of problems but since I came to osun for help, I discovered that people here (the osun palace) are very caring and friendly. The Yeye performed some river rituals for me and thing began to change for better. I have tralleved aboard, I am a father, infact the osun has done explicitly well for me. That why I have decided to also become an osun worshipper.

How were you convinced the osun can help you?

I think my problems then were more of spiritual than the physical, a friend brought my here I didn’t question why he brought me to Yeye osun because I thought all has finished for me but thanks to Osun’s great powers that transformed my life.