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Tucked away in the remote village of Dzita in the Volta Region of Eastern Ghana, lies a small community carrying on the traditions and beliefs that stay within the walls of “fetish shrines” across various regions in Ghana, Togo & Benin.
These people believe in practicing various rituals and performing traditional dance and music which all act as a way to access the healing powers of the Spirits and the gods. Every fetish shrine has its own Fetish Priest or Priestess who is usually chosen through “spiritual nomination of the shrine” , this person serves as a mediator between the spirits and the living and are believed to help people with all sorts of spiritual and physical health problems. People often fear them as it is believed that Fetish priests or priestesses have the power not only to heal but to kill people.
I travelled to the village of Dzita to document. learn and understand more about this culture and to spend some time inside the fetish shrine of “Mamishie” who is a well known fetish priestess that people visit from all parts of the region to help heal any problems they might have. I made a video accompanied by a small photo story which you can see below.