The Araba of Osogbo, Ifáyemí Elébuibón, has defended the selection of a 10-year-old maiden as the Arugba of the Osun-Osogbo Festival, insisting that the traditional role should not be viewed as child abuse.
Elébuibón said the position was one of spiritual responsibility and privilege, rather than one determined by the physical age of the girl chosen to perform it.
He made the clarification in a video interview shared on Sunday by Yoruba cultural content creator, Wàá Ṣeré, amid public concerns over the age and responsibilities of the new Arugba, Princess Alimot Moredeke Ajoke Osunbunmi.
The Arugba, traditionally a young maiden from the royal lineage, carries the sacred calabash during the annual procession to the Osun Sacred Grove.
Alimot was selected through Ifa divination in March 2025. She is a member of the royal family of the Ataoja of Osogbo and made her first appearance carrying the sacred calabash during this year’s procession on Friday, after she was considered too young to perform the role at the 2025 festival.
Explaining the significance of the position, Elébuibón described the Arugba as a spiritual intermediary between the Osun deity and the people.
“You see those people saying all that? They lack understanding. They don’t know. Whoever says the Arugba is too young—this one is ten years old, but some started at five!
“The role the Arugba plays is a role of spiritual maturity, not about physical age. What the Arugba does for the town and the community is what the white man calls a ‘medium’—an intermediary between the Orisa and the people,” he said.
He added that the maiden’s spiritual status allowed her to communicate what was believed to be the wishes of the deity to the community.
“As young as she is, provided she remains pure and undefiled by any man, she can wake up one morning and say, ‘Mother Osun said this and that, do this, do that, don’t do this.’”
Elébuibón further argued that spiritual development in the tradition was not necessarily linked to biological age.
“Very soon, she will mature spiritually far beyond her biological age because the Orisa themselves nourish and care for them. Her role is not about age; what she does is not about age.”
A female priestess and custodian of Osun-Osogbo also defended the practice in a separate video shared by culture content creator Olamide Oseyifunmii.
She explained that the Arugba was traditionally chosen through Ifa divination from the royal lineage and was expected to observe specific taboos attached to the sacred role.
“Whomever Ifa chooses becomes the Arugba. The Arugba must be a girl who remains untouched, pure, and a virgin. That is strictly what the Arugba must be,” she said.
The priestess dismissed the description of the practice as child abuse, arguing that girls chosen for the role were traditionally protected and cared for.
“Being selected as the Arugba carries taboos and honours; it is not what Westerners label as ‘child abuse’.”
She also said the Arugba was not required to carry heavy objects during the festival, apart from the sacred calabash used in the annual procession.
Addressing the significance of devotees bowing before the Arugba, she said the act was not an expression of worship directed at the child but an acknowledgement of the Osun deity believed to be represented through her.
“They were bowing to the divine spirit of Osun Ewuji inside her and upon her head,” she said.
The 2026 Osun-Osogbo Festival commenced on August 7 and will end on August 19 at the Osun Sacred Grove in Osogbo, Osun State.
The annual celebration, dedicated to the Osun deity, is one of Nigeria’s prominent traditional festivals and draws worshippers, tourists and cultural enthusiasts from within and outside the country.
