Culture matriarch, Suzanne Wenger, dies

Renowned artist and priestess of the Osun goddess, Suzanne Wenger, popularly called Adunni Olorisa, has passed on.



She died at 93.

Wenger, an Australian by birth, who arrived in Nigeria in 1957, died in Osogbo, Osun State on Monday, after having a lunch.

By her death, the Osun Grove in Osogbo, which assumed a world-class tourism status under her supervision, and Africa in general, has lost a great friend and an indigenous culture devotee.

She singularly gave hope and life to the grove that was enlisted into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s World Heritage List in 2005.

Incidentally, the Centre for Culture and International Understanding, another UNESCO-approved institution, was opened only last week.

The centre houses the archives of great scholar and artist, Prof. Ulli Beier, who was not only married to Wenger at one time, but also worked closely with her on various aspects of Yoruba art and culture.

Born during the First World War in 1915 in Graz, Austria, Wenger studied art in Graz and Vienna where she was part of the famous Vienna “Art-Club.”

After the Second World War, she travelled to Italy and then spent some time in Switzerland where she had exhibitions together with the most famous artists at the time in the gallery “Des Eaux Vives” in Zurich.

According to an account on the Werunthings site, Wenger went to Paris in 1949, where she met Beier, who accepted a posting in West Africa. They got married and arrived in Nigeria.

From Ibadan, they moved to Ede, a neighbouring town to Osogbo, where she “very quickly became part of their culture.”

Although age had prevented her from being physically part of the annual Osun Osogbo Festival in the past 10 years, it (festival) has continued to grow in status and in terms of the economic gains it attracts to Osun State.

She is renowned for her oil paintings, batiks and drawings. Of note is the “New Sacred Art” she created together with some Nigerian artists - in the sacred grove of Osogbo.

Originally named Susanne Wenger, she became famous to the Nigerian media, scholars and art enthusiasts as ‘Adunni Olorisa’ because of her deep involvement in the worship of the Osun goddess. She was said to have expressed joy on separate occasions that the legacy she lived and worked for was being preserved by others.

For instance, the Federal Government, through the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, has classified the Osogbo grove as a monument with the materials in it classified as antiquities.

In 1998, her group of friends who had committed themselves to the cause came together and founded the Adunni Olorisa Trust. The trust is to ensure that the sacred grove, her house and all her attainments are maintained.

Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, described her death as a national loss.

Oyinlola said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Lasisi Olagunju, that Wenger’s efforts earned global recognition for the Osun Osogbo festival.

He said, “This is the end of an era. Wenger came to Yorubaland in the early 1950s with her partner, (Ulli) Beier, in search of their spiritual essence (Ori Inu), which she found in the serene spirituality of Osun.

“Wenger represents the enduring bridge across continents and cultures.”

Also, the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Oyewale Matanmi, said the Osun devotee lived a fulfilled life.

Speaking through one of his chiefs, who is also a renowned artist, Chief Jimoh Buraimoh, the monarch said Wenger’s rites of passage, which began on Monday would continue today.

Buraimoh also revealed that UNESCO had already sent its condolences.

The Jaguna of Osogbo, Chief Gabriel Oparanti, who is the second in command to the Ataoja, said Adunni, before her death, had warned that no tomb must be built for her.

According to him, Wenger did not want her tomb to become a tourist attraction for white people.

“She said she wouldn’t want any white people to turn her tomb into a tourist attraction. She has laid a solid foundation for the arts and culture in Osun State. Her works will never perish,” Oparanti said.

When one of our correspondents visited the Osun grove around 9pm on Monday, Osun and Oro worshippers were seen performing the burial rites for Wenger in the thick forest