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, southwestern Nigeria, on August 17, 2018. – Thousands of people attend the yearly Osun-Osugbo Festival to celebrate and make sacrifices to the river goddess ?Osun? in return for fertility and good fortune. (Photo by Stefan HEUNIS / AFP)
Some tourists and devotees of Osun-Osogbo Festival on Friday arrived at the groove for the grand finale of the annual traditional gathering.
The cultural enthusiasts, who started arriving in large numbersĀ from 8 a.m are seen with kegs and containers in their hands to fetch water from the Osun river .
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the annual event is expected to come an end on Friday with a virgin maiden who will lead possession of devotees and worshippers to the groove to communicate with the deities among other sacrifices
Also, masquerades, traditional local drummers, hunters and members of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) are not left out as they sing and display their unique cultural identities.
Also, security personnel which include the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) are stationed at strategic locations within and outside the groove to forestall any break down of law and order .
The state cultural dancers and some officials from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism are also present at the groove,Ā putting a touch to the beauty of the festival .
A devotee, Mr Wakili Amao, told NAN that the annual event had continue to bring together, thousands of people across the globe irrespective of their different social, economic, religious and political affiliations.
Amao described the Osun water as a source of blessing to him and others in solving their spiritual and physical challenges, adding that this had warranted them to continue paying annual homage at the groove.
He, however, called for more support from the state government in terms of giving the environment a befitting outlook to draw more local and international tourists.
NAN further reports that makers of products such as the Seaman Schnapps, Goldberg beer, MTN among others were not left out of the annual celebrations.
(NAN)