‘Susanne Wenger begged us to preserve Osun-Osogbo grove’

From a very early age, she had been strongly attracted to nature and specifically to trees from where she was said to have recognised ‘the images of sacredness.’ As a young Austrian girl, Wenger began her sojourn in Nigeria in the 1950s during a chance visit to the famous Osun-Osogbo grove and that became a […]

From a very early age, she had been strongly attracted to nature and specifically to trees from where she was said to have recognised ‘the images of sacredness.’ As a young Austrian girl, Wenger began her sojourn in Nigeria in the 1950s during a chance visit to the famous Osun-Osogbo grove and that became a defining point in her life.
Wenger studied art in Graz and Vienna, Austria, and she was a part of the famous Vienna Art Club. After World War II she took her art to Italy and Switzerland where she had exhibitions. In 1949, Wenger went to Paris, where she met Ulli Beier who had been posted to work in West Africa and they got married in the 1950s.
Wenger was a phenomenal woman of different interpretations to different people around the world. A great artist, culturist, spiritualist, naturalist, intellectual, researcher, philosopher and philanthropist, Wenger signified a bridge between Yoruba and European cultures. She came to Nigerian at a time that deities were becoming less fashionable to be identified with among the Yoruba people owing to the advent of Islam and Christianity.
The religious issue had detrimental effects on the Osun grove in the 1950s as the shrines were neglected and traditional priests disappeared. Trees were felled; sculptures were reportedly stolen and hunting and fishing that were previously forbidden in the sacred Osun grove became a daily routine and the place was desecrated. But when she came, Wenger stopped the abuses going on there and restored the sanctity of the sacred forest. That was how she became an important part of the rich traditional cult life in Osogbo. Essentially, Wenger was a spiritual being.
As a result of her efforts in the preservation of the sacred forest, in 1965, Osun grove was declared a national monument and in 2005, the grove was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a world heritage site. This and other factors made the annual Osun festival a very popular event to the extent that many Africans in the Diaspora and other people from all parts of the world now undertake pilgrimage to Osogbo for the Osun festival.
However, after 94 years on the surface of the earth out of which a large part was spent in Osogbo, the priestess of Osun died on January 2009. Daily Trust learnt that Wenger specifically requested not to be kept in the mortuary but to be buried immediately when she died. Doyin, one of Wenger’s foster children, told our correspondent that the instruction was followed to the letter.
Before she died, Wenger called her children and talked to them about the philosophies of life, religion and culture. She begged them to preserve the Yoruba culture and the traditional religion. She urged them to ensure that the Osun grove was properly taken care of and advised them not to neglect her artworks at the grove.
During a chat with Doyin at the grove on, our correspondent requested to see where Wenger was buried but Doyin said it was not possible. “Mama Adunni Olorisa doesn‘t want any tomb to be erected for her. She doesn‘t want anyone to know where she‘s buried. So, don’t attempt to see the place. We go there only when we have some special rites to perform there. Mama warned us that her tomb must not be known to many people so that it would not be turned into a tourist site,” she explained.
“She was laid to rest in one of the sacred shrines in the groove and we are preventing the idea of people worshiping her tomb. That is why we don’t allow people to go to her grave,” Doyin added.
Chief Adigun Olosun, one of Wenger’s adopted children in a chat with Daily Trust, said his mother was passionate about the grove and that she could not bear the abuses going on there then. He added that he has also been doing his best to sustain the artworks at the grove as instructed by Wenger before she died. Adigun, who lives abroad said there was no vacuum as his sister, Doyin, has being playing mama’s role at Osun grove since Wenger died. He said his children and those of his siblings are already joining in the preservation of the sacred site.
“At a crucial point in the history of the Osun grove, mama strove to protect the grove and she enjoyed the support of people of Osogbo with the encouragement of the then Oba and the cooperation of the local people. They joined hands together to form the New Sacred Art Movement to challenge land speculators, repel poachers, and protect the shrines at the grove,” Olosun explained.
“She worked with local artists to create large, heavy and fixed sculptures in iron cement and mud, as opposed to the smaller traditional wooden ones, in order that their intimidating architectural forms would help to protect the grove and stop theft. All the sculptures were done in full respect for the spirits of the grove, with inspiration from Yoruba mythology and in consultations with the gods in a traditional context. The new work made the grove a symbol of identity for the Yoruba people. We are taking proper care of all the shrines, including the ones outside the grove and we will continue to sustain them,” he added.
Apparently, Doyin who took over Wenger’s roles is equal to the task and tourists and other people who have been visiting the resident of the late Austrian artist at Ibokun Road in Osogbo were not disappointed. Our correspondent stumbled on an international researcher, Dr. Titus Leber who was in Osogbo to learn more about the Osun grove. Leber who was received by Doyin said he was working on a project on bringing African cultural heritage into cyber space.
“I’m pleased to meet Doyin here. We had met earlier in Austria. Since I came, Doyin has made me to know many things that I came to learn here and she made me to discover the world of Mama Susanne Wenger who also came from my country. It was an amazing experience to see how Wenger was able to penetrate the Yoruba spiritual world,” The researcher, who is also an Austrian, told Daily Trust.
“Doyin led me to the place where mama used to meditate and I was able to look in the river to see how she got her inspiration to meet the spirits of ‘Orisha’ (goddess) and I spent 10 days on this. It was absolutely fascinating and would be very useful for my project. The project is meant to bring African heritage into the multimedia platform, especially for young people,” he added. 
On efforts to preserve the artworks and other antiquities left behind by Wenger, Doyin explained that the government of Austria, the Susanne Wenger Foundation and the Aduni Olorisha Trust in Nigeria and Austria, have been supporting mama’s children to make sure that her artworks and the grove were preserved.
“We have been receiving visitors on behalf of mama since she is no more. We are taking care of her work here. There is no vacuum. We are doing everything the way it would have been done if she is alive. I feel very happy that I’m playing mama’s role today and I will keep doing it. The work is enormous but the gods have been very supportive,” Doyin enthused.
During the last Osun-Osogbo festival, an event tagged: ‘Susanne Wenger’s Sacred Colloquium 2015,’ was organised to remember Mama Adunni Olorisha and mark her centenary anniversary as she would have been 100 years old if she was alive. During the event, a paper titled: ‘Late Madam Susanne Wenger and National Commission for Museums and Monuments as Springboards to the Development of Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove and Enlistment as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,’ was presented by Mr. Yusuf Abdallah Usman, Director General of National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The presence of a representative of the Austrian ambassador to Nigeria reflected the significance of Wenger’s centenary. The envoy wore a gown made from gold-and-black ankara fabric designed to mark Wenger’s death. The cloth carried her picture and the inscription ‘Mama Susanne Wenger Iwinfunke – Celebration of Life – From July 4, 1915 – January 12, 2009.’ 
The envoy said when she arrived in the Nigeria some years ago the Osun-Osogbo grove was among the first places she visited.

“She was laid to rest in one of the sacred shrines in the groove and we are preventing the idea of people worshiping her tomb. That is why we don’t allow people to go to her grave,” Doyin added.
Chief Adigun Olosun, one of Wenger’s adopted children in a chat with Daily Trust, said his mother was passionate about the grove and that she could not bear the abuses going on there then. He added that he has also been doing his best to sustain the artworks at the grove as instructed by Wenger before she died. Adigun, who lives abroad said there was no vacuum as his sister, Doyin, has being playing mama’s role at Osun grove since Wenger died. He said his children and those of his siblings are already joining in the preservation of the sacred site.
“At a crucial point in the history of the Osun grove, mama strove to protect the grove and she enjoyed the support of people of Osogbo with the encouragement of the then Oba and the cooperation of the local people. They joined hands together to form the New Sacred Art Movement to challenge land speculators, repel poachers, and protect the shrines at the grove,” Olosun explained.
“She worked with local artists to create large, heavy and fixed sculptures in iron cement and mud, as opposed to the smaller traditional wooden ones, in order that their intimidating architectural forms would help to protect the grove and stop theft. All the sculptures were done in full respect for the spirits of the grove, with inspiration from Yoruba mythology and in consultations with the gods in a traditional context. The new work made the grove a symbol of identity for the Yoruba people. We are taking proper care of all the shrines, including the ones outside the grove and we will continue to sustain them,” he added.
Apparently, Doyin who took over Wenger’s roles is equal to the task and tourists and other people who have been visiting the resident of the late Austrian artist at Ibokun Road in Osogbo were not disappointed. Our correspondent stumbled on an international researcher, Dr. Titus Leber who was in Osogbo to learn more about the Osun grove. Leber who was received by Doyin said he was working on a project on bringing African cultural heritage into cyber space.
“I’m pleased to meet Doyin here. We had met earlier in Austria. Since I came, Doyin has made me to know many things that I came to learn here and she made me to discover the world of Mama Susanne Wenger who also came from my country. It was an amazing experience to see how Wenger was able to penetrate the Yoruba spiritual world,” The researcher, who is also an Austrian, told Daily Trust.
“Doyin led me to the place where mama used to meditate and I was able to look in the river to see how she got her inspiration to meet the spirits of ‘Orisha’ (goddess) and I spent 10 days on this. It was absolutely fascinating and would be very useful for my project. The project is meant to bring African heritage into the multimedia platform, especially for young people,” he added. 
On efforts to preserve the artworks and other antiquities left behind by Wenger, Doyin explained that the government of Austria, the Susanne Wenger Foundation and the Aduni Olorisha Trust in Nigeria and Austria, have been supporting mama’s children to make sure that her artworks and the grove were preserved.
“We have been receiving visitors on behalf of mama since she is no more. We are taking care of her work here. There is no vacuum. We are doing everything the way it would have been done if she is alive. I feel very happy that I’m playing mama’s role today and I will keep doing it. The work is enormous but the gods have been very supportive,” Doyin enthused.
During the last Osun-Osogbo festival, an event tagged: ‘Susanne Wenger’s Sacred Colloquium 2015,’ was organised to remember Mama Adunni Olorisha and mark her centenary anniversary as she would have been 100 years old if she was alive. During the event, a paper titled: ‘Late Madam Susanne Wenger and National Commission for Museums and Monuments as Springboards to the Development of Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove and Enlistment as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,’ was presented by Mr. Yusuf Abdallah Usman, Director General of National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The presence of a representative of the Austrian ambassador to Nigeria reflected the significance of Wenger’s centenary. The envoy wore a gown made from gold-and-black ankara fabric designed to mark Wenger’s death. The cloth carried her picture and the inscription ‘Mama Susanne Wenger Iwinfunke – Celebration of Life – From July 4, 1915 – January 12, 2009.’ 
The envoy said when she arrived in the Nigeria some years ago the Osun-Osogbo grove was among the first places she visited.