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Annual Osun River Ritual 2024
August 11
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We’re delighted to invite you to the Annual Osun River Ritual Festival. We are in our 8th year and looking forward to the collective gathering in honour of our River Orisa Mami Osun – to be blessed by her soothing cool waters, her gift of grace, her love, joy, beauty, her sensuality, creativity and abundance.
Our ritual coincides with the two-week-long Oshogba Festival in Yorubaland (Nigeria). As always our focus in honouring Mami Osun is for love to manifest, for healing to vibrate and to experience abundance in all areas of our lives. We celebrate Mami Osun to channel all things sweet and gracefullike the flow of her cooling, healing waters and sacred honey.
Collectively we summon her sensuousness, generosity and love. We bring our full offerings of all her special food to thank her for always sweetening our lives, despite the many struggles and tragedies we face. She is always there!
You will join others in the spirit of Ubuntu, bringing your love, giving thanks, enjoying the peace and joy of the occasion, and letting go enough to be charmed by the empowering vibrations of this communal ritual.
About Osun and her healing waters – river force
Osun is the Orisa (and mother) of sweet, fresh waters. She is a source of well being. As one of many forces of nature in the Yoruba Ifa tradition, she represents healing, nurturing, creativity among many other impressions. She is also increasingly one of the most revered Orisa in the pantheon in the African diaspora.
Nurturers, as Mami Osun represents, can be both sweet and comforting and strong disciplinarians. She can therefore take up serious causes on our behalf – fighting those unwanted energies that unsettle us from time to time. You will know what these are personally for you. Rivers, Osun’s symbol, either flow gently and sweetly or can be rapid and raging. But waters are ever cleansing, renewing and bringing life, healing and abundance.
What to bring (your offerings to Osun )
These are all symbolic, representing abundance, love, prosperity, mysteries (as in the secret way water is in the coconut), beauty, fertility, creativity and so on.
– 1 coconut (dry one)
– green plantain – half (if you have or can get one – peeled and cut it into dices)
– buy a small piece of yam (get locally – but don’t worry if you cant.) If you can, you need to peel and cut into dices – ideally – roast it a bit in the oven – you can probably do it the night before?
– brown sugar (not loads – some of what you have already at home)
– boiled sweets (at the river, you remove the wrappers)
– sweet biscuits
– popcorn (uncooked kernels)
– a cheap £1 shop mirror (a small one)
– tiny bit of white cloth (or paper)
– bottle of drink (small one – like Grace or one of those makes)
– fruits (light coloured – eg honeydew melons, tangerines, bananas)
– honey
– coins – not pounds
– 20ps/ 10s and 5s
– if you have cowrie shells
– bring a few/five (but don’t worry if you don’t)
– herbs (mixture/any greenery/healing ones or ones for flavouring)
– flowers – white/yellow
– incense- small perfume/fragrance oil (get a sample bottle from somewhere?)
– a tray to place your offering on (this won’t go into the river unless it’s biodegradable) – it’s to place the offering on before it goes into the river.
Anything that expresses your creativity, sensuality, fertility and aspirations for these.
– your lunch/snacks to eat after in the park (Optional)
– Chairs/blankets
ALSO
– Music making items – bells, shack shack (maracas), flutes, what you have can make music, drums- Write your desires/aspirations on a piece of paper (fold very small, which can go as part of your offering)
What we will do
This is a light-hearted experience of deep significance, and is not meant to be complicated but ultimately to express readiness and willingness to be part of shared ritual experience in the honour of the goddess of love! We gather in her name – walk towards a spot where we can lay our offerings. We sing, make music and experience the Love Vibration of Mami Osun. If you want to leave after the ritual you can, otherwise you can join us in the park to relax and enjoy late lunch,(weather permitting).
What to wear
We wear white for purity, peace and unity. In the diaspora, yellow and white are used for Mami Osun. However, this is usually white in Yoruba. It’s up to you whether you do either or both, main thing is to be comfortable in what you wear. The looseness of clothing reflects the free flow of river, free flow and welcome of the gentleness the river source. Wear comfortable shoes for the small walk to the main ritual area.
CAUTION & SPECIAL NOTICE
If you have attended the ritual before, please note that whilst it is not advisable to go into the water, should you wish to do so please wear appropriate footwear. Wellies are good if you choose to go into the shallow water. This is especially so for any children who attend with you. Do be careful as we’re not sure what harmful items might be in the water. No drone filming!
We will meet:
– at: 11.00am and location: Morden Underground Station
– and walk to the new location: next to the children’s play area, on the other side of the Rose Garden to do the ritual.
Please remember to take your litter with you or use the bags provided.
– ONLY items that are biodegradable must go into the river.
Prepare before the day
Find a little space (time) to commune with yourself and decide your personal objective for being part of the ritual. You can look up Osun and what she’s about. The sources online are generally okay. (We are deliberately avoiding being prescriptiveness to allow you to intuit for yourself.) Part of the process is your self-initiated readiness to be open and allow spirit to guide you. Avoid discussing what you plan to do with those who just wont appreciate it. But do let your brother/sister who may be interested know and bring them too; children love this day and there is a nice, wooded play area at this new location.
Bring your festive vibe!
