Arch of the Flying Tortoise: The Restoration

This outstanding cement sculpted arch marks the original entryway to the Sacred Grove. It was sculpted with cement and reinforced with iron rods and netting. The significance of the flying tortoise motif was explained by Susanne Wenger as follows: “In many cultures, the tortoise represents matter—the opaque and heavy aspects of the divine. But nothing can keep its heaviness intact when entering the precincts of Osun’s influence.” The Arch had collapsed completely many years ago. However, in a major feat of restoration in 2014, the Arch was completed reconstructed - recreated from photographs and memory by New Sacred Art Movement father-and-son artists, Adebisi Akanji and Adebisi Nurudeen.