Busanyin Shrine

In 2021, with support from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, CyArk partnered with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), the Adunni Olorisa Trust (AOT), and the local community of Osogbo to document the Busanyin shrine & provide training to local experts. CyArk staff and Nigerian trainees from the NCMM and AOT completed digital documentation of the shrine and surrounding landscape over the course of five days. The project team set up a control network with a total station, completed photogrammetry (both aerial and terrestrial) of the extant features of the shrine and riverbank, and also completed a LiDAR survey of both interior and exterior of the structure. The Busanyin shrine is one of the eight principal worship points in the Sacred Grove and consists of an intricately carved walled enclosure covered with a roof meant to resemble the outstretched wings of a bird. The shrine is dedicated to the deity Ibu-Osanyin (Busanyin), a male hunter spirit who is the guardian of the knowledge of herbs and traditional medicines. An important place of worship for local traditionalists, the Busanyin shrine is believed to be one of the oldest shrines of the groves. In 2019 severe flooding compromised the structural stability of the shrine resulting in significant damage to many of the delicate artworks located in and around the shrine. LiDAR - Terrestrial, Photogrammetry - Aerial, Photogrammetry - Terrestrial