Ilédì Oǹtótóo: Ọ̀ṣun Wave Wall Detail

This image is a cement sculpted wall detail on the Ilédì Oǹtótóo Shrine, Susanne Wenger’s most sensitive and complex architectural creation. Built in the late 1960’s and early 1970s on the site of an abandoned school, Ilédì Oǹtótóo is the assembly point for the Ògbóni, Yorùbá traditionalists associated with the Earth deity. This remarkable structure is composed of three enormous roofs which rise against the sky like giant lizards, representing the forces of the earth before mankind.

The exterior walls are elaborately sculpted in cement with ‘rapturously emotional scenes’ to use Wenger’s words, depicting interactions with the deities. The flow of the Ọ̀ṣun river and the connection between earth and water are seen and felt throughout the sculpted exterior and interior of this magnificent shrine.

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 rebuilt. The redish colour was achieved by adding red iron oxide to the final finish 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 should last forever.
This photo is by Adolphus Opara, an artist-photographer who documented the Osun Osogbo Shrines and Sculptures for the Trust. He has exhibited widely including at the Tate Gallery in London, and at Harvard University, USA where his photos of the Osun Grove were shown as part of a Conference on the Connections Between Sacred Groves in Nigeria and in Brazil. Adolphus Opara selected this photo out of his collection as one of ten of his favourite works inspired by the Groves.