page_title: Sacred grove
section_title: Nigeria
hierarchical_section_title: Sacred grove / Today / Africa / Nigeria
caption_attribution_description: Osun river in Osogbo - Osun state - Nigeria - Africa
context_page_description: A sacred grove or sacred woods are any grove of trees that are of special religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and cult practice of Celtic, Baltic, Germanic, ancient Greek, Near Eastern, Roman, and Slavic polytheism, and continue to occur in locations such as India, Japan, and West Africa. Examples of sacred groves include the Greco-Roman temenos, various Germanic words for sacred groves, and the Celtic nemeton, which was largely but not exclusively associated with Druidic practice. During the Northern Crusades, there was a common practice of building churches on the sites of sacred groves. The Lakota and various other North American tribes consider particular forests or other natural landmarks to be sacred. Singular trees which a community deems to hold religious significance are known as sacred trees.
context_section_description: The concept of sacred groves is present in Nigerian mythology as well. The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, containing dense forests, is located just outside the city of Osogbo, and is regarded as one of the last virgin high forests in Nigeria. It is dedicated to the fertility goddess in Yoruba mythology, and is dotted with shrines and sculptures. Oloye 
  Susanne Wenger, an Austrian artist, helped revive the grove. The grove was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
caption: Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Nigeria
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