Encyclopedia of African Religion

Fetishes or Gods?

African deities, divinities, or gods are innumer-
able, and the Dahomean, Nigerian, and Haitian
pantheons are particularly vast. The attributions,
roles, and importance of these divinities in society
vary considerably as well. Known as theVodun
among the Fon people of Benin Republic (former
Dahomey),Orisha/Ochaamong the Nago and the
Yoruba ethnic groups of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria and Benin Republic,Tronamong the Ewe
people of the Republic of Ghana and Togo
Republic, andLoaorLwaamong the Haitians of
the Caribbean Islands, these African divinities were
erroneously called fetishes by the European
invaders. As a result, the Vodun religion was cyn-
ically referred to asfetishism, and theVodunsi, the
adept or initiated follower of the Vodun religion,
was calledfetishistby Westerners.
Today, ironically, African experts and scholars of
the Vodun religion use the termFetishto refer to
African divinities or gods. Throughout his acclaimed
book,Le Fa, une géomancie divinatoire du golfe du
Bénin:Pratique et technique, Rémy T. Hounwanou,
a veritable Bokonon (an exceptionalFádiviner), has
writtenFétiches ou dieux(Fetishes or gods) in refer-
ring to African deities/Vodun, Tohossou, Yalodé,
Lissa, Loko, and so on. In the same vein, when
Beninese historian and author Jean Pliya wrote his
novella and titled itL’arbre fétiche, he was referring
to a divine tree, a sacred tree, a tree god, so to speak.

It was a huge sacred baobab tree in the city of

Ouidah. In African traditional religion, many trees

are Fetish trees (not artificial or manufactured

objects), including the baobab and iroko trees.

Actually, one of the most sacred trees in Cotonou,

the economic capital city of Benin Republic, is an

iroko tree known as Azaaloko, at the foot of which

important Vodun rituals are performed by the

Hounnon or Hounnongan (High Priests of Vodun).

All in all, Vodun practitioners do worship Vodun

or Fetishes (but not mere images), although just as

in Christianity and most other major religions,

sacred symbolic representations are made of the

divine forces and spiritual manifestations of God.

In looking at the symbolic representations of

African deities/Fetishes, Westerners or any out-

siders may see man-made artificial objects, but

Vodun initiates and devotees see gods revealing

themselves to humans through the spirits thus rep-

resented. Today, in using the wordFetish, outsiders

and insiders have two diametrically opposed reali-

ties in mind. Molefi Kete Asante aptly pronounced

that it is in the soul of Africans to seize and redirect

language toward liberating ideas and thought.

Thomas Houessou-Adin

See alsoAmulet; Blessing

Further Readings

Hounwanou, R. T. (2002).Le Fa, une Géomancie

Divinatoire du Golfe du Bénin:Pratique et Technique

(2nd ed.). Cotonou, Bénin: GAPE.

Kiti, G. (1968, January). Le Fétiche au Dahomey.Etudes

Dahoméennes(IRAD nouvelle série), 11 , 133–147.

Merriam-Webster. (Ed.). (2004).Webster’s New Explorer

Dictionary of Word Origins.Darien, CT: Federal

Street Press.

Pliya, J. (1971).L’arbre Fétiche. Yaoundé, Cameroon:

Editions CLE.

FIRE

Fire is one of four basic elements in the universe, the

others being air, Earth, and water. In many African

cosmologies, fire represents the first element

Table 1 List of Vodun Fetishes

Ada Tangni
Agbé/Tovodun
Aguê
Aizan
Aklobè
Akovodun
Avlékété
Azé
Dan
Dan Ajaguna
Dan Toxosu/
Tohossou
Dan Ayido Huêdo
Dè

Fire 267

Dji

Duduwa

Gbadu

Goro

Gu

Hênnuvodun

Hohovi

Hu

Jo

Ke

Kinnessi

Koku

Kpôvodun

Lègba

Lissa

Loko

Mahu

Mahu-Lissa

Mamiwata

Nâ

Naawo

Na-Kinnessi

Sakpata

Sinji Aglosumato

Sogbo

Xêviosso

Yalodé