New Arugba Oṣun Named for International Oṣun Shrine: Girl to Lead Annual Oṣun Procession to Sacred River
- Iya Ibeji Adeyela
- Mar 16
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 18
How Oṣun Empowered Me
By Iya Ibeji Adeyela Bennett
Nine-year-old Princess Moradeke Ajoke Osunbunmi is the new Arugba Oṣun!
Online media outlets in Nigeria reported that in March 2025, spiritual leaders in Oṣogbo, Oṣun State, Nigeria, selected Princess Osunbunmi for this sacred role in the Oṣun shrine.
The Arugba Oṣun is a position of high honor in Iṣẹṣẹ spiritual culture. She is young in body; however, she carries the power and love of an Oriṣa in her soul.
The Arugba Oṣun is always a virgin from the royal family in Osogbo. She is ordained to lead the procession to the Osun River during the annual Oṣun-Oṣogbo Festival. The Arugba Oṣun carries the calabash of sacred offerings for Oṣun on her head.
According to an article by Tunde Ajibola in Alternative Culture London: "The Osun Osogbo Festival dates back over 700 years and is deeply rooted in the history and mythology of the Yoruba people. The festival commemorates the covenant between the first settlers of Osogbo town and the goddess Osun. According to legend, Osun promised to protect and bless the people if they worshiped her and maintained the forest around her sacred river. This agreement laid the foundation for the town’s prosperity, and the festival was established to honor this divine relationship."
Susanne Wenger, renamed Adunni Olorisha, was an Austrian artist and devotee of Oṣun who led the effort to reinstate the traditional protections that prohibited fishing, hunting and falling of trees in the Oṣun Grove. She passed away in 2009 at age 93 in Oṣogbo.
In 2005, the United Nations recognized the Osun-Oṣogbo Sacred Grove as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Oṣun -- also spelled Ochun by Spanish speakers in places like Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Venezuela; Oshun by English speakers in Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and the United States; and Oxum by Portugese speakers in Brazil -- is one of the most beloved Oriṣa in the Yoruba pantheon.
Oṣun's favorite color was originally white, but it is said that she washed her white clothing in the river so many times that they turned yellow in hue. So, today, Oṣun devotees are often seen in yellow or gold, but also in white. Her number is five and her favorite metal is brass, so Oṣun devotees often wear five brass bangles.
A 2017 article in the Daily Mail wrote about Beyonce paying tribute to Osun: "In her first public performance since announcing she is pregnant with twins, Beyoncé donned a gold sequin gown and headpiece and a gold bikini. But far from simply making a fashion statement Queen Bey was actually paying homage to an indigenous religious icon, Oshun – a Yoruba deity from West Africa for whom twins and motherhood are particularly crucial."
I have never attended the popular Oṣun-Oṣogbo Festival; however, in August 2000, my Oluwo, or spiritual teacher, Chief (Dr.) Ọmọtoṣo Eluyemi, the Apena of Ife, along with the Yeye Oṣun, took my mother, daughters Ayinnuola and Moremi, and me to the Oṣun shrine. We then went to the Oṣun River to bathe, pray and make offerings. While I needed the support of a Yoruba translator, I spent hours learning from the Yeye Oṣun and basking in the tranquilty of the sacred shrine.
As a divorced, single mother in an unhealthy relationship, I prayed at the Oṣun River for spiritual elevation and enlightenment.
The following week, Chief Eluyemi led my initiation to Orunmila, the Oriṣa of Destiny. Four years earlier, in 1996, Chief Eluyemi led my initiation in Miami to Obatala, the Oriṣa of Creation. In recognition of my spiritual rebirth, Chief Eluyemi changed my name from Sharon to Adeyela.
During my 2000 sojourn to Ile-Ife in Oṣun State, Chief Eluyemi awarded me the chieftaincy title, Iyalaje Obatala ni Ife, at the Obatala shrine. The title was in recogntion of my nearly two decades promoting traditional African cultures in Washington, DC, and Miami, Florida.
Oṣun is the One who Conquers Without Fighting
Upon my return to Miami, I was empowered to easily and quickly leave the unhealthy relationship. I called a realtor who had the perfect place for my daughters and me: a beautiful, clean and spacious two-story townhouse in an upscale neighborhood near my daughters' school. The owners had gone to Veneuzuela, I believe, and accepted the amount of money I could afford to pay for rent. My daughters and I moved in that very day, and never looked back.
Shortly thereafter, I purchased a brand new home near my mother and sisters. Life was sweet.
I credit my Ori, or divine head; my Ancestors; Oṣun; Ifa and the Oriṣa for awakening the spiritual strength, finances and familial support that I needed to leave the abusive situation. I was stronger, wiser and healthier after my visit to the Oṣun River. Only the strong survive!
Ore Yeye Oṣun!
We adore you, Great Mother Oṣun!
Ore Yeye Oo. What a beautiful homage to our mother Osun and also to your sacred Journey. May the Orisa continue to bless you infinitely.