Mouth Lekki Lagoon | Main source Ekiti state Length 267 km | |
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Tributaries Left:Erinle River, Oba River | ||
The Oṣun River (sometimes, but rarely spelt Oshun) is a river that flows southwards through central Yorubaland in southwestern Nigeria into the Lagos Lagoon and the Atlantic Gulf of Guinea. It is one of the several rivers ascribed in local mythology to have been women who turned into flowing waters after some traumatic event frightened or angered them.
Map of Osun River, Nigeria
The river is named after the Oṣun or Oshun, one of the most popular and venerated Orishas. The annual traditional worship at the Ọṣun Shrine near the Ọṣun River at Osogbo has become a popular pilgrimage and important tourist attraction, drawing people from all over Nigeria and abroad to the annual festival in August.
Osun is one of the river goddesses in Yorubaland, she is noted for providing for the needs of the people. She was reputedly one of the wives of Ṣango, the Yoruba god of thunder. The river goddess has been able to give barren babies and change the lives of many other people. And also there has been many fictional stories about goddess oshun, for example, Shegun Coker and the cursed temple by Kolawole Michael, 2008.