Igbó Orò Walls: during restoration

The Igbó Orò Walls are essentially the continuation of the Egúngún walls to the right-hand side of the entrance to Igbó Orò. These magnificent walls were created by Ojewale Amoo, one of the first artisans recruited by Susanne Wenger to work on her first shrine in Òṣogbo, Ìdí Bàbá, in the late 1950s. Ojewale was a bricklayer by training and evolved into a master artist working in cement as well as carving wood sculptures. The Sacred Groves are divided into two sides by a road. The decorated walls on either side of it form an impressive entry as one approaches from the ‘UNESCO gate”. The walls undulate evoking the rippling waters of the Ọ̀ṣun River named after Ọ̀ṣun, the deity of fertility, water and purity.
Most of the walls were originally built to mark the boundaries of the different groves or “igbó” and to protect the òrìṣà’s private spheres. .
All the walls required extensive restoration due to water penetration caused by low quality materials used at the time and lack of drainage.