Wole Soyinka: advocates cultural integration

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has advocated cultural integration as a means of uniting people from different parts of the world.

Soyinka, who is a UNESCO Ambassador, stated this when he visited the Osun Osogbo grove, on Friday.

Explaining the symbolism of the Osun River to black people in the Diaspora, Soyinka said that the water of Osun River was highly revered among Brazilians.

The world acclaimed poet and dramatist noted that the water contains some spiritual essence for devotees of Yoruba deities such as Obatala, Ogun, Yemoja and Osun.

He said, “I am taking Osun Osogbo water samples to Brazil to the Osun worshippers. We have a lot of black people there and many of them are devotees of Osun, Sango, Obatala, Ogun, Yemoja and other deities.

“When I visited the worshippers in Brazil, I found out that they havepreserved the Yoruba culture; from the liturgies to some of the prayers and even the processions of the devotees. I saw the Iyalorisa of Osun. I saw a bowl of water, which was symbolic of Osun River and I promised them that I would bring them the actual water from Osun.”