Fetish priest
In Ghana, Togo, Benin and other countries of West Africa, a fetish priest is a person who serves as a mediator between the spirits and the living.[1][2][3] Fetish priests usually live and worship their gods in enclosed places, called a fetish shrine. The fetish shrine is a simple mud hut with some kind of enclosure or fence around it. The priest or priestess performs rituals to consult and seek the favor from his gods in the shrine. The rituals are performed with money, liquor, animals, and in some places, human sex slaves called trokosi, fiashidi, or woryokwe. The priest is usually chosen through "spiritual nomination of the shrine" through divination.[4][5] They are most at times believed to help people in spiritual matters and physical needs (riches, good fortunes, marriage, traveling mercies, deliverance) in people's life. People fear them most often because fetish priests claim they can kill people spiritually.
References
- Traditional Cures for Modern Conflicts: African Conflict "medicine" - Google Books. 2000. ISBN 9781555878764. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
- Palmer, Karen (2010-10-26). Spellbound: Inside West Africa's Witch Camps - Karen Palmer - Google Books. ISBN 9781439143124. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
- Levy, Patricia (1999). Ghana - Patricia Levy - Google Books. ISBN 9780761409526. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
- Briggs, Philip (2010). Ghana: The Bradt Travel Guide - Philip Briggs - Google Books. ISBN 9781841623252. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
- Dickson, Kwamina B. (1969). A Historical Geography of Ghana - Kwamina B. Dickson - Google Books. ISBN 9780521071024. Retrieved 2015-03-04.