Фетиши эве — от формы к содержанию

Fetishes of the Ewe — From Form to Content

One of the most important areas of studying the culture of a people is the analysis of its material heritage, in which artifacts of the spiritual sphere occupy a central place. In traditional African societies, such artifacts include fetishes — symbolic expressions of certain mystical entities and phenomena that act as objects of veneration and worship. The creation of fetishes by the Ewe people is of great scholarly interest, as the rituals and ceremonies associated with them serve as the basis for the practice of numerous cults of the Vodun religious system, often referred to in Russian historiography as Voodoo. This article presents a typology of the diverse fetishes of the Ewe people, based on empirical and semantic analysis. Although only specific examples are described, the actual number of objects studied exceeds one thousand specimens held in museums, private collections, auction houses, and the author’s personal collection. The study draws on the work of Russian and international researchers who have studied the Ewe people and related ethnic groups at various times. It is characterized by a high degree of novelty, as no previous attempt has been made in either Russian or international literature to systematize the ritual attributes and typology of fetishes related to the Ewe people. © 2025, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.