Anthropos 79. 1984: 39-46
Kabiye Fetish Religion: A Comparative Study
Thomas J. Larson
Introduction
In this study I compare the religion of a West
African society with that of a Central Bantu
speaking people. The Kabiye of northern Togo
approach their god through intermediaries known
as fetish spirits. On the other hand the Hambu-
kushu of Botswana, a typical Central African
Bantu-speaking people, ignore God but fear and
appease the ancestral spirits. Each approach to the
supernatural beings maintain traditional estab
lishment values and integrate the society which
produces a strong tribal identity in the individ
ual.
Through a cross-cultural approach I will
explain how each religion is adapted to the
environment and social needs of the people.
Westerners associate fetish religion and the ap
peasement of ancestral spirits as pagan religions. I
attempt to place traditional African religions in
their proper context of monotheism with recogni
tion of a High God. Though both the Kabiye and
the Hambukushu recognize the same High God
as Christians and Muslims, their approach to the
higher deity is based upon their particular needs
and experience.
From 1963 to 1964 I served as a community
analyst for the United States Agency for Interna
tional Development in northern Togo with a rural
development project for the creation of an agri-
Thomas John Larson, Ph.D. (University of Virginia,
1980); Prof, of Anthropology ; from 1970 to 1983 Northern
Virginia Community College, since 1983 Klamath Falls,
Oregon. From 1969 to 1983 twenty-seven anthropology field
trips for students to: Botswana, Togo, Ghana, Benin, Kenya,
Tanzania, Guatemala, Bahamas, Mexico, Peru, Society
Islands, England, and Portugal. Publications: four books
about the Fiambukushu, one about the Kabiye, three theses
on the Hambukushu, sixty anthropological papers for scienti
fic journals and Explorers Club publications.
cultural training center for county agents. While
stationed at the Centré Pilot near the provincial
capital of Lama-Kara, I had the opportunity to
make a preliminary community study of the
Kabiye of Tchitchao Canton. From 1973 to 1982 I
made six field trips with students to visit the
Kabiye of Tchitchao. During this time I observed
numerous fetish religious practices.
Between 1950 and 1972 I made six field trips
to study the Hambukushu of Botswana. The
Hambukushu originally lived in Zaïre before
migrating southward to the Okavango River
region in northwestern Botswana. From Central
Africa they brought with them their typical
matrilineal traditions and kinship structure in
cluding their religious beliefs and practices. Both
the Kabiye and the Hambukushu as agricultural
peoples adapted to their ecological environment
to suit their social needs. While they are similar in
some respects in their approach to a supreme
being, on the other hand regional differences
become apparent in religious practices.
1. The Kabiye in their Ecological and Social
Setting
The Kabiye of Togo are of the Negroid race
characterized by being tall in stature averaging
five feet eight inches for males, dark brown in skin
color, with narrow foreheads, black kinky hair,
broad noses, thick everted lips, scanty facial, and
body hair (Murdock 1959: 8). Their language
belongs to the Voltaic sub-family of the Negritic
linguistic stock. The Kabiye belong to the Tern
cluster of Voltaic peoples and their language is
related to that of the Lamba, Dompongo, Logba,
Manganapo, Temberna, Cotocoli, and Temba
(Murdock 1959: 80).