Sangodare Ajala: Priesthood and Pageantry

This photograph shows artist Sangodare Ajala at the height of his powers as a Sango priest, dancing and with well-wishers around him. He is shown wearing the consecrated red as well as the woven hairstyle of male devotees of the Yoruba god of Thunder. Sangodare Ajala (b.1948) is leader of the New Sacred Art Movement, one of Nigeria’s finest artists and a true representative of traditional Yoruba culture. In addition to his work as an artist, he is a practising Sango Priest and Herbalist. Sangodare lives in Osogbo, and leads the New Sacred Art Movement, which was founded by Susanne Wenger, his adoptive mother. As Site Manager of the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove, Sangodare Ajala has dedicated himself to the restoration of the works of art in the Grove since 2008. Without his perseverance, leadership as well as artistic and spiritual guidance, there would be very little left of the works of art in the Osun Grove.