page_title: Fetishism
section_title: Practice
hierarchical_section_title: Fetishism / Practice
caption_attribution_description: English: At the voodoo "power object" market in Lomé, Togo. Deutsch: Auf dem Voodoo Fetischmarkt in Lomé, Togo.
context_page_description: A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value, or powers, to an object.
context_section_description: The use of the concept in the study of religion derives from studies of traditional West African religious beliefs, as well as from Voodoo, which in turn derives from those beliefs.
  Fetishes were commonly used in Native American religion and practices.  The bear represented the shaman, the buffalo was the provider, the mountain lion was the warrior, and the wolf was the pathfinder.
caption: A voodoo fetish market in Lomé, Togo, 2008
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