9th Annual Osun River Ritual
2025-08-10 11:00 - 17:00 UTC | Modern Hall Park
Welcome!
We are celebrating the 9th year of the Annual Osun River Ritual Festival and as always are looking forward to the collective gathering in honour of our River Orisa Mami Osun. She always blesses us by her soothing cool waters, her gift of grace, her love, joy, beauty, her sensuality, creativity and abundance. Her reflective mirror (as is the river) invites us to look deeply within ourselves to access these special gifts: the festival is a way of aligning with them and helping them to manifest.
The ritual coincides with the two-week-long Osogbo 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 graceful like the flow of her cooling, healing waters and sacred honey. The transformative energies of 2025 means we will need to harness these vibrations even more.
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 – e.g. 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.
Where to meet
– at: 11.00am and location: Morden Underground Station
– and walk to the location: next to the children’s play area, on the other side of the Rose Garden to do the ritual.
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.

Please remember to take your litter with you or use the bags provided.

ONLY items that are biodegradable must go into the river.
No drone filming!

How to prepare for 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.
PLEASE REFER TO THE SPECIAL preparation advice in the programme details you’ll receive when you register.

Affirmation Theme for this year: I AM a co-creator of the unifying, collective power of my community.

Annual Osun River Ritual: 10th Anniversary Celebration
2026-08-09 10:00 - 16:00
The Annual Osun River Ritual marks its 10th Anniversary in 2026 with a landmark cultural, spiritual, and community celebration honouring Osun – the Yoruba Orisa of the river, abundance, fertility, and healing.
For ten years, the ritual has brought together elders, artists, activists, families, and young people to honour the river, protect water life, and celebrate African diasporic spiritual heritage in London.
As always the event will combine ritual, performance, wellness, art, and community participation, with youth involvement and environmental awareness. This year, we are making some improvements to the ritual we know you’ll enjoy and we welcome your support and understanding.
Your minimum donation of £5.00 will go towards supporting the event’s overheads and organisation. Please use the DONATE button or book via Eventbrite, if preferred.
10th Anniversary Celebration: programme of activities
What the 10th Anniversary Celebration includes

Sacred river blessing and naming ceremony of a river deity figure found 10 years ago in the Thames – See this podcast
Intergenerational handover ceremony, to welcome the new Arugba (calabash bearer)
Dance, drumming, music, and spoken word performances
Wellness walks and environmental activities (starting in March – September in collaboration with the National Trust) – Register here
Art/photographic exhibition (2–10 August)
Film screenings, workshops, presentations centred of aspects of African Spiritual practices
Merchandise and community fundraising
Food stalls
Recognition of the ancestral links to the location at Morden Hall Park – through Virginia Tobacco trade
River Clean up/blessings

What Is the Osun River Ritual?
The Annual Osun River Ritual is a public, spiritual and cultural gathering centred in African and diasporic traditions, specifically Ifa of Yoruba. It centres on the Orisa of smooth water; water being sacred, life-giving, healing. Connecting with the annual Osogbo festival, honouring Yeye Osun, we make space for:

Communal and personal offering
Community well-being
River blessing, honouring the environment
Intergenerational knowledge sharing
Dance, drumming, music, and spoken word
Celebration of African Indigenous Spirituality

Meet up:
Meeting point outside the M&S/Sainsbury’s – address: 1 Merton High St, London SW19 1DD. Meet at 10.00am – we set off at 10.15am, as the walk to the Morden Hall location takes 30-40 minutes. We use this route as homage to the original meet up. For those who prefer the shorter route, make your way from Morden Station. To connect with the larger group, start at 10.30am from Morden Station.

About the location: Morden Hall Park
Described as a beautiful ‘oasis’ located in the borough of Merton, Morden Hall Park, is a National Trust site that was offered to the public, by its owner Gilliat Hatfeild in 1941. The Wandle River runs through the park, which is perfect to celebrate Yeye Osun. It was once the site of a snuff mill, with its tobacco brought to the UK from Virginia, locating its link to slavery. This was acknowledged by the National Trust during 2020 when a number of institutions were revisiting their historical connections to the Transatlantic Slave Trade. This year, we feel it is important to more formally acknowledge this link with our African ancestors.
The small team at the Park have embraced the Osun River Ritual, offer us their support to ensure the event is safe and successful. All visitors are asked to help them to keep it beautifully maintained.
Address: Morden Hall Road, Morden, London, SM4 5JD
