FETISHES
Fetishes, also known as power figures, take many forms. Although made for utilitarian purposes such as witchcraft, ceremony, and healing, they demonstrate an aesthetic sensibility that belies their humble purpose. Usually simple, pure forms are used and often decoration such as feathers, beads, animal bone or fur are added to complete and enhance the item. Myths, traditions and history of the tribe and the world they lived all nourished the creator’s imagination.
One of the main purposes of much of the African carvings, including sculpture and fetishes, is to facilitate communication between supernatural beings and forces, and the people. Other fetishes and sculptures were associated with ancestral worship, worship of spirits or nature, to detect witches, concerns about the destiny of the soul, healing, for neutralizing or inflicting sickness or evil, to bring fertility to crops animals and people, consolidating friendships, oath taking or for group and personal protection. Human and animal forms were the chief motifs used to fulfill this function.
These figures acquired their power through a carving process steeped in ritual and consecration by the group’s religious leader. It was the leader who had magical powers and the ability to make contact with the spirit world. He added magical substances to the object, often in carved receptacles in the stomach or head of the figure. Frequently, the item was rubbed with palm oil and coated with other potent materials to enhance their powers and to enable them to keep their effectiveness.
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