Ewe or Fon Vodun Fetish Pectoral (Bocio)
Ewe or Fon Vodun Fetish Pectoral (Bocio)
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Fon or Ewé people, mid. 20th century, Togo, Benin or Ghana, West Africa
Exceptional Vodun priest fetish pectoral (bocio) composed of braided fabric stripes, covered in multiple layers of encrusted clay or mud. Traces of libations, sacrificial blood, and other ritual substances remain on the surface. The worn and encrusted surface attests to ceremonial use over time.
In Fon and Ewé cosmology, Vodun (or Vodoun) encompasses ancestral spirits, personal gods, public deities, and magical forces. Bocio are talismanic objects believed to house spirits, offering protection, healing, or intervention in human affairs. Priests and ritual specialists imbue these objects with sacred power, often using plant, animal, or other material ingredients. Pectoral bocio such as this were worn or displayed during ceremonies to channel spiritual energy, communicate with the divine, and maintain the balance between the physical and spiritual worlds.
The Fon and Ewé view the supreme being, Nana Buluku, as the creator of all, who gave birth to twins Mawu (female) and Lisa (male), governing night and day, respectively. Spirits called aziza, Legba, and Sangbata, along with other elemental and clan-specific deities, inhabit the natural and supernatural world and are invoked through such sacred objects. Bocio like this embody the interconnection of ancestry, ritual, and daily life in West African Vodun practices.
Good condition. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age and use. Size approx. 100,0cm x 2,5cm x 4,0cm.
Provenance: Ex-collection of Mr. Fofana Sankoung
References and further reading:
African Vodun: Art, Psychology and Power, Suzanne Preston Blier, University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Vodún/Vodu, Resistance, and North/South Relations in Undemocratic Togo, Eric J. Montgomery, Brill, Journal of Religion in Africa, pp. 224-248, 2020.
Vodou, Serving the Spirits, The Pluralism Project, Harward University, 2020.
Four Vodun Ceremonies, George Eaton Simpson, The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 59, No. 232, pp. 154-167, Amercan Folklore Society, 1946.
Contemporary Vodun Arts of Ouidah, Benin, Dana Rush, African Arts, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 32-47 + 94-96, UCLA, 2001.
They Died in Blood: Morality and Communitas in Ewe Ritual, Eric J. Montgomery, Journal of Ritual Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 25-40, 2018.
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