RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Name: AJEWOLE, Bukola

Matriculation Number: DRA/2017/023

Project Supervisor: Mr. Hameed Olutoba Lawal.

Project Title: Osun Osogbo Festival: A Historical and Managerial Appraisal.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

This research will examine Osun Osogbo Festival from a theatrical point of view,

including its historical and managerial aspects. The essay will highlight and discuss the theatrical

elements like dramatic personae, audience, arena, costumes, spectacles, music and dance et

cetera, which are embedded in the festival. Therefore, it can be regarded or called a festival

theatre (Olaniyan, 326).

Osun Osogbo is an African traditional festival in Southern Western part of Nigeria —

Osogbo town, Osun State. The festival is a communal celebration that comes up once in every

year i.e annually for 12 days, in the month of August, which according to Olaniyan, only seven

days of the two weeks have major events (329). It is true that every traditional festival is attached

to a supernatural being or defied ancestor as a result of this, the festive may be said to be

religious based and inspirational. The traditional festival of the people are complex combination

of ceremonies, occasions which originates from religious rites and historical events (The

Guardian Newspaper, Para. 2,4).

 In view of the above facts, man engages himself in a religious rite to reinforce his dealing

with the spiritual forces and tries to maintain harmonious affinity with these forces. Man

therefore, influences the deities and the spirits through offering of sacrifices and prayers. All

these demonstrate man’s inability to be self-existent in his environment and believe in

supernatural being.

The celebration of festivals/rituals in African context serves as root of African Traditional

drama and theatre. We could then observe that the functional aspect of festival/ritual lies in the

medium of expression of the people’s beliefs.

Therefore, theatre and festivals/rituals have so many things in common in Africa. There

are salient features of festival in theatre such as action, language, music, dance, drum, costume,

settings, stage or shrine, audience and performers et cetera.

It is then pertinent to say at this juncture that all African ritual activities (festivals

included) involve management, and have always been properly managed. This explains the

reason why there have always been harmony and success at the end of such festivals.

This paper will then delve into the managerial aspects of festivals in Yoruba land with

particular reference to Osun Osogbo festival.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

Investigations on Osun Osogbo festival have undergone extensive revisions and reviews,

especially in the area relating to the historical background and the relevance of the festival to the

people of Osogbo. Unfortunately, little or nothing has been done in the analysis and critical
evaluation of the managerial aspect of the festival which is a pivotal area that always contributes

to the success of the festival. I, therefore, intend to explore and analyse how this festival is being

managed and conducted.

1.3 Research Aims and Objectives

As earlier noted, the primary aims and objectives of the essay is to analyse broadly the

historical background of the festival and to show how Osun Osogbo festival is being managed.

The festival in Osogbo is a yearly celebration through which the birth of Osogbo as a

town is celebrated.

The essay will trace the origin and myth surrounding Osun Osogbo festival. This I

believe would behooves the reader of the essay to better understand and appreciate Osun Osogbo

festival in Southern Western part of Nigeria.

1.4 Research Methodology

The primary and secondary sources of data are employed for this study. This study will

adopts qualitative research method by gathering information through the instrument of oral

interview with the administrative officials of Osun Osogbo Sacred Groove and Osogbo Cultural

Heritage Council.

The secondary sources of data collection which include reported interviews by previous

researchers in textbooks, journals, published essays/articles, relevant previous academic research

works such as dissertations and theses, papers presented at seminars, conferences, public lectures

and mass media sources such as Magazines, Newspapers and the internet.

1.5 Justification of the Study

Researches has been conducted on Osun Osogbo festival, however not much has been

done on the managerial aspect of the festival. Majority of the researches are based on the

historical background of Osun Osogbo festival, it relevance to the people, the purpose and

contributions of some of the chief actors of the festival. Therefore, failure to properly consider

the planning and management aspect of the festival. For instance, a Newspaper article published

in The Guardian of August 15, 2015 written by Florence Utor centres on the history and the

performances of the festival. In the same vein, academic research on Osun Osogbo festival which

was published in European Scientific Journal, April 2014 edition, vol.10, No.11, written by

Olaniyan Modupe Elizabeth basically highlights the historical and the significance of Osun

Osogbo festival. This study, therefore, intends to fill the gap.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study covers a relatively wide area. The essay will investigate the

historical background of Osun Osogbo festival including the purpose and salient characteristics

of the festival. It will also focus on the significance of the major events in the festival and the

ritual calabash carrier “Arugba Osun”, the priestess and the whip wielders of Osun. This research

will also examine the involvement of “Orisa Oko” in connection with Osogbo festival. Osun

Osogbo festival will also be discussed from a theatrical point of view, thus, focusing on the link
between Theatre and festival. The management aspect of the festival which is one of the key

points of the essay will be carefully considered.

1.7 Limitations

The bulk of the essay will be based primarily on first-hand information gathered from the

indigenes of Osogbo, the priest of Osun, the administrative officials of Osun Osogbo Sacred

Groove and some of the planning committee of the festival.

Inability to get relevant books and materials that address the managerial aspect of the

festival is a limitation.

1.8 Literature Review

Past studies on Osun Osogbo festival are primarily focused on historical background and

myths surrounding the festival. Therefore this essay will find Yemi Ogunbiyi’s book, Drama

and Theatre in Nigeria, very useful in the area relating to the affinity between theatre and

festival and Oyin Ogunba’s essay, Traditional African Festival Drama, in the area of theatrical

perspective of festivals.

The Yoruba people are the predominant ethnic group in South Western Nigeria with a

population of nearly “40 million” (Communications National Commission for Museum and

Monument, 13). Their tradition is closely linked to nature. There is one Supreme Being – God,

the God of all creations, called Olorun, and over 200 lesser gods, called Orisha. Many of these

gods are represented by natural creations in the environment. For example, Sango is the god of

thunder, Yemoja, the goddess of the sea and fish, Oya who was Sango’s wife, goddess of the

storms et cetera. Therefore, Wole Soyinka asserts that “the deities exist in the same relation with

humanity as these multiple worlds and are an expression of its cyclic nature” (11)
 In Yoruba cosmology, Osun is one of the wives of Sango, the god of thunderstorm and

lighting, who was metamorphosed into a river as a result of a misunderstanding between her and

“Oba”, another co-wife of Sango. Osun is the goddess of the “waters of life”, of fertility. Osun

was impersonated in the Osun river. Therefore the whole of the river is sacred. The Osun River

takes its source at Igede-Ekiti, flows within Osogbo town and empties itself in the Atlantic

Ocean. Her “waters of life” are strongly believed to have healing, divination, protective and

fertility powers. But it is also believed that the goddess inhabits the grove located inside one of

the meanders of the river, nearby Osogbo: the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove (Communications

National Commission for Museum and Monument, 23).

Writing on traditional African festival drama, Oyin Ogunba (1998) affirms that in

traditional African drama, the great artistic institution uses the festival and that the festival is not

merely a religious occasion. In its realization, a festival‘s religious foundation is often tied to a

veritable carnival of dance drama and ritual drama. It is in this sense that the festival is the prime

artistic institution of traditional Africa. The festival is the only institution which has the

framework that can coordinate virtually all the artistic forms of a community. Each traditional

festival lasts for a considerable time-days or weeks. Each tends to have a story or a myth to

perform and each makes use of its own peculiar style in the dramatic realization of the story.

Each year, there is a cycle of performances which evokes much of the history of a community

and also brings to light all the artistic forms of the community-costuming, masking, drumming,

chanting, drumming etc.

A festival is a celebration, a commemoration to mark a particular event or a situation. It is

also a communal gathering because it involves everybody in a community.

 Osun Osogbo festival in Osogbo town, Osun state in the South Western part of Nigeria, is

celebrated in a very unique way. No other town or village celebrates it on a large scale like the

people of Osogbo. Although, other towns like Ede, Ido-Osun, Ilesha, Otan-Ayegbaju and Ikirun

celebrate Osun festival, none of these towns celebrates it as it is uniquely done in Osogbo. The

festival is An annual event which commemorates the day Osogbo town was founded by the first

Ataoja, Oba Larooye, about 450 years ago. The festival has become a major cultural event in

Nigeria and it attracts people from all walks of life. It is celebrated in August of every year.

(Olaniyan, 327)

The whole events in the festival last for two weeks but out of the two weeks, the major

events happen only in seven days. Each of these seven days is significant to the festival. The first

day marks the clearing of the bush around the main roads from Gbaemu area of the town to the

palace. The clearing exercise of the town‘s main road is to make sure that over-grown shrubs and

weeds that might hamper the easy influx of visitors to the town are cut down. The second day

marks the lighting of the sixteen (16) lamps, which must be kept burning till the following

morning when a sacrifice will be offered to the past wives of the King. The fourth day marks the

feasting of the people of Osogbo by the Ataoja, the King; the fifth day is marked with the

sacrifice to the King‘s head and the crown; the sixth day is the worship of the earth goddess or

the Ojo Ogboni (the Ogboni‘s day) while the seventh day, the grand finale, marks the worshiping

at the shrine.

1.9 Conclusion

Osun Osogbo festival is a traditional festival that has not lost its values and significance

in the whole of Yoruba-land of Nigeria, and indeed the world. The festival impacts the sense of

cohesion, integration and solidarity into its adherents, thus resulting in the unity which prevails
 in Osogbo in particular and the good neighborliness it enjoys with other towns and villages. As a

festival of international standard, which the people can identify with, the groove has been

developed into a tourist centre thus, fetching Nigeria a lot of foreign currency and attracting

international investors into the country.

REFERENCES

Communications National Commission for Museum and Monument. Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove.

Abuja: National Commission for Museum and Monument. 2014.

Florence Utor. “Osogbo Glows With Glitz, Glamour Of Osun Festival.” The Guardian Newspaper.

August 15, 2015. https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/osogbo-glows-with-glitz-glamour-of-

osun-festival/

Getz, D. Festival Management and Event Tourism. Elmsford, NY Cognizant. 1997.

Ogunba, O. “Modern Drama in West Africa.” Perspectives in Africa Literature. London: Heinemann

Educational Book Ltd., 1998.

—“Traditional African Festival Drama.” Theatre in Africa. Ed. Ogunba, O. and Irele, A.. Ibadan: Ibadan

University Press. 1978

Ogunbiyi, Y. (ed) Drama and Theatre in Nigeria: A Critical Source Book. Lagos: Nigeria Magazine,

2014.

Olaniyan, Modupe E. “An Appraisal of Osun Osogbo as a Festival Theatre.” European Scientific

Journal, vol.10, No.11, April 2014 edition, pp. 326-336. ISSN: 1857–7881 (Print), e - ISSN

1857-7431.
Orga, Y. D. “Tourists’ perception of Osun Osogbo Festival in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria.” Journal of

Tourism Theory and Research, 2(1), 2016, pp. 40-48. DOI: 10.24288/jttr.202830

Osogbo Cultural Heritage Council. Osun Osogbo Festival. Indiana University. 1998. Digitized 19 Aug

2009.

Smith, C and Jenner, P. “The Impact of Festivals and Special Events on Tourism.” Travel and Tourism

Analyst, Vol 4., 1998, pp. 341-368.

Soyinka, W. Myth Literature and the African World. Oxford: University Press, 1976.

The Guardian Newspaper ―Osun Osogbo Festival Begins. Lagos: Rutham House, August 15, 2008.