Alájere: jumping over the Cliff: Sculpture under Restoration

This photograph shows the sculpture of Alájere under restoration; New Sacred Artist Adeyemi Oseni looks on as Site Manager and leader of the Movement, Sangodare Ajala, inspects the ongoing work. This is one of the major sculptures on the Alájere Path of the “Dancing Men”, perched on the edge of a narrow path high above the Osun River. This is the deity, Alájere, who is jumping over the cliff to join the River Goddess Osun with arms raised in praise to her powers of fertility.
Susanne Wenger created this work in the 1960s. As with all the Shrines and works of art in the Sacred Grove, this sculpture was created using cement reinforced with iron rods and netting. To save money at the time, Wenger used mud at the core of the sculpture and then covered it with cement. However, the mud core weakened over time and the sculpture nearly collapsed. The piece required major restoration in 2016 by Adeyemi Oseni. This time only cement with metal reinforcement was used and the sculpture should last forever, with proper maintenance.