Muslims, Christians Pray in Nigeria
By D'ARCY DORAN
Associated Press Writer

August 11, 2002, 1:01 PM EDT

OSOGBO, Nigeria -- Hundreds feverishly shout prayers as a virgin casts
melon seeds and meat from a freshly sacrificed goat into the Osun river
-- offerings to the river goddess people here believe shields them from
disease, hunger and war. 

Many of the worshippers observing the centuries-old ethnic Yoruba
celebration in southwestern Nigeria this weekend are Christians and
Muslims. But they say one cannot pray to enough gods in a country
overwhelmed by grinding poverty, rampant ethnic violence and the ravages
of AIDS and malaria. 

Kalopo Wale, a 25-year-old Christian, first made the trip to the banks
of the Osun a decade ago, after dropping out of school because his
parents couldn't afford the fees. 

"I had a problem that day. I prayed here, and it went away," Wale said
near the water's edge. "That's why I come every year." 

Days after participating in the celebration known as the Osun water
festival, a tailor offered Wale an apprenticeship. Now he has his own
business and is back seeking prosperity. 

The weeklong festival is one of the most sacred feasts for the Yorubas
in that part of Nigeria. The ceremony also draws tens of thousands from
other parts of this nation of 120 million people -- and dozens of
tourists -- to the town of Osogbo each August. 

The Yoruba -- who believe in a pantheon of gods, each representing a
natural element or emotion -- regard the river as Osun, the goddess of
fertility. The waters, they believe, cure infertility in women, heal the
sick, and ensure prosperity and long life. 

Every August, streams of women flow from the river's edge carrying
plastic jugs of brownish water on their heads. 

"With that water you can request anything you want," Wale said, watching
the women. "You take it home, pray to it, drink it, give yourself a
bath." 

The 20-million-strong Yoruba tribe is almost equally divided between
Christians and Muslims. But Yoruba beliefs have survived, withstanding
the onslaughts of religion as well as European colonization and tribal
wars. 

Slaves took Yoruba traditions as far as Cuba and Brazil. They are also
evident in neighboring West African countries, Benin and Togo. 

The Yoruba belief in multiple gods helps them reconcile different
religions, said Caleb Kullman, 31, an American researcher, who is
studying the effects of modernity on the Yoruba. 

"Nigerians are very practical," Kullman said, watching crowds stream to
the river for blessings from priestesses. "If they think they can get
more benefits if they mix praying to Osun with Christianity, they will."


Yet, ethnic, religious and political clashes have killed thousands of
Nigerians in recent years. 

The presence of thousands of white-cloaked members of the Yoruba ethnic
militia, the Odudua Peoples Congress, at this year's festival served as
a reminder of the violence still tearing at Nigeria. 

The militia was banned two years ago after the government blamed it for
ethnic riots that killed more than 100 people in the commercial capital,
Lagos. 
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press

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