Ilédì Oǹtótóo: Entrance into the Shrine

This image is a close-up of the elaborately sculpted entrance into Ilédì Oǹtótóo, Susanne Wenger’s most sensitive and complex architectural creation. Built in the 1960’s and early 1970s, it is the assembly point for the Ògbóni, traditionalists associated with the Earth deity.
The entry is in the shape of a paw print, created with re-enforced cement. It references the connection of the Ògbóni Society or Cult to the earth. The flow of the Ọ̀ṣun River and the connection between earth and water are seen and felt throughout this magnificent shine. As this image shows, the walls of the Shrine literally flow. Other parts of the walls depict interactions with the deities.
This shrine had nearly collapsed when the New Sacred Art Movement artists, led by Adebisi Akanji, Susanne’s artistic collaborator on all her major monuments and Sangodare Ajala, rescued and rebuilt it in 2012. All the cement walls had to be completely recreated. The redish colour was achieved by adding red iron oxide to finishing coat of the Shrine. In the past, laterite was mixed with the cement creating a slightly redish colour. Unfortunately, this earth additive was also the cause of the collapse of the walls. Now that it has been recreated using strong materials, this magnificent Shrine will last forever!
This photo is by Adolphus Opara, a very talented photographer who documented the Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo Shrines and Sculptures for the Trust. Adolphus has exhibited widely including at the Tate Gallery, London and at Harvard University, USA where his photos of the Ọ̀ṣun Groves were exhibited as part of Conference on the connections between sacred groves in Nigeria and in Brazil.