Festival of Oshun

Oshun or Osun is a Yoruba goddess that is associated with erotic beauty, gold and rivers. Awo Osun, a New York society of Oshun worshipers, gathers by the Hudson River every summer to honor the deity and pay respects to ancestors. Everyone comes dressed in white, as is customary for Yoruba festivals. I unfortunately showed up dressed in black. But I was warmly welcomed and no one seemed to mind that I was running around with a video camera. The Priest calls on Oshun with song. He then uses ginko nuts to perform a reading. I love the idea that the Hudson and East Rivers are inhabited by deities from the worlds religions.
This video was shot in July of 2003. The Harbor Series is a series of short videos about the ritual and cultural uses of the New York waterfront and was inspired by the Village Voice article: Holy Waters, by Erik Baard Fort Washington Park, Manhattan, 2003 runtime: 00:04:50

Will Luers
http://solublefish.wordpress.com

Duration : 0:4:51


[youtube _B38PxCHY3A]

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25 Responses to Festival of Oshun

  1. sopita225 says:

    do you know when …
    do you know when the festival this year would be?

  2. PWatts3000 says:

    Ashe Ochun!
    Ashe Ochun!

  3. imelda4jesus says:

    foolish people
    foolish people

  4. ecuanga1 says:

    Salamalekum
    Ashe …

    Salamalekum
    Ashe mi OSHUN Ashe
    gracias por este homenaje tan hermoso para mi Madre gracias

  5. GooGoo32 says:

    Why was the …
    Why was the wordpress blog removed?

  6. BrianPsychicBabystar says:

    Ashe!
    Ashe!

  7. deltax27 says:

    To Tchokleit: very …
    To Tchokleit: very ignorant remark…………Our religion has survived many thousands of years, the river is the river, just as the wind is the wind and the ocean is the ocean……….all of our sweat is salty, and why? we all came from the same womb………..and what does that prove? a human is a human………just like everything else in nature.

  8. obatalafunfun8 says:

    I don’t know,those …
    I don’t know,those aren’t my people.But,I would imagine they are worshipping OSun just like everybody else.Osun and the rest of the Orisa,could care less about skin color.Unlike we foolish human beings.

  9. oloyumiya says:

    i was at this …
    i was at this ceremony it was great this and other ceremonies unite the puerto rican cuban african american nigerian and many other brothers together to worship our ancestors frommthe yoruba land , its great and its should happen everyday

  10. tchokleit says:

    what are those …
    what are those white people doing there ?and they speak the language…

  11. WorkOnWellness says:

    Ashé Oshun Ashé
    Ashé Oshun Ashé

  12. narayanr says:

    So beautiful … I …
    So beautiful … I miss my Baba so much … so thank you for this clip.

  13. Criscilla241 says:

    I just want to make …
    I just want to make a correction: those are KOLA nuts used for divination,not ginko nuts. As one of the many members of AWO OSUN,I’m shocked to see us on Youtube…interesting…

  14. lionelvillahermosa says:

    maferefun orula …
    maferefun orula maferefun oshun.

  15. 2161942 says:

    alafia, all praises …
    alafia, all praises to our mother
    where is your ile?
    ase

  16. chardydayday says:

    Thank you very much!
    Thank you very much!

  17. shadayafreeman says:

    Oh ok thanks
    Oh ok thanks

  18. obatalafunfun8 says:

    Yeye Moro is …
    Yeye Moro is sometimes used as a praise name.However,it is actually one of Osun`s personalities.Yeye Moro is the flirtatious,coquettish personality of Osun.Many associate this personality of Osun with mirrors.Ore Yeye O,means”Most Gracious Mother”.

  19. obatalafunfun8 says:

    No,their mostly …
    No,their mostly Americans.The guy that performs the divination is Nigerian.

  20. shadayafreeman says:

    Are these people …
    Are these people originally from Nigeria?

  21. chardydayday says:

    hi what does “yeye …
    hi what does “yeye moro” and “ore yeye o” mean?

  22. obatalafunfun8 says:

    Yeye Moro!!,
    Osun …

    Yeye Moro!!,
    Osun my mother,my queen,thank you for making my life sweet as honey.Thank you for giving me the gifts of being physically as well as internally attractive .
    Ore Yeye O!

  23. DirtMurkDog says:

    I love it ashe to …
    I love it ashe to the ancestors

  24. MrOshun says:

    Wow..I made it into …
    Wow..I made it into YOUTUBE….MAFEREFUN OSHUN. KINKAMASHE AWO OSUN.

  25. rbso6 says:

    YE-YEOOO!! …
    YE-YEOOO!! MAFEREFUN OSHUN!!