I have been fascinated for a long time now by fetishes. No, not the sexual kind, i'm talking about small objects that are believed to have special power. That is what fetishism concerns itself with. A fetish, in this sense, is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value or powers to an object.
I used to trade in Zuni fetishes. I did, that is, until I realized there just wasn't that much interest in them here in New Zealand. Kiwis just don't have any understanding of such matters and don't seem very inclined to. But I have always found them fascinating.
The photo is of a bear fetish I used to own. It's a particularly powerful one because it's a white bear. Bears are said to have healing powers, the white bear having the greatest power. I think this particular one is meant to bring good fortune to crops and to prevent crop diseases because it features a Kokopelli. The other symbol visible in the photo is the sun, which reinforces the idea that this bear was for warding off crop diseases, most probably corn smut.
You've probably seen Kokopelli before. A few years back he became a symbol of everything to do with the American Southwest, though in reality he's a sacred symbol to the Native American tribes of that region. He is a fertility deity. He is often depicted with animal companions such as rams and deer. For that reason many scholars believe that the object he holds is a blowgun, rather than a flute as is commonly thought. He carries babies on his back to distribute to young women, and for that reason many young, unattached Native American women fear him. Kokopelli has been worshipped since at least the time of the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. The first known images of him appear on Hohokam pottery dated to sometime between AD 750 and AD 850.
But enough about Zuni fetishes, there are many other types from all over the world. Originally, the word fetish (feitiço in Portuguese) was used by the Portuguese to refer to the objects used in religious cults by the Occidental African natives. The concept was made known in Europe by Fanel Brosses in 1757, while comparing West African religion to the magical aspects of Ancient Egyptian religion.
Later Sigmund Freud appropriated the concept to describe a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is an inanimate object or a specific part of a person, so it is from he that we get the sexual connotation of the word fetish. Shoe fetish is the most commonly known type of sexual fetish. Fetishism is present in all religions, but its use in the study of religion is derived from studies of traditional West African religious beliefs, as well as Voodoo, which is derived from those beliefs.
So then, voodoo dolls are fetish objects. Which is apparent if you think about the definition i've given for the word and then consider what those dolls are used for. Other religious objects that qualify as fetishes would be crucifixes, statues of religious figures, chalices, prayer beads, and in Eastern religions there are dorjes, which means lightening bolt in Sanskrit, it's a small object held during ceremonies, singing bowls, tingsha (cymbals), and various bells used to clear the mind for meditation. Gongs are another fetish object.
Go to any Catholic church in any country, especially in Europe and you will be surrounded by fetishes. You just never thought of it in those terms. Anyway, that's the low-down on Fetishism; I hope you've enjoyed getting to know about it.
