Fon tradition: divinatory fetishes in African art

The Fon occupy the territory that is currently the Kingdom of Dahomey, part of the Republic of Benin. Their traditional artistic corpus is divided into two groups: on the one hand, court art linked to royalty.
On the other hand, the best known, the divinatory statuary composed of fetishes called botchio (bochio or bocio) with a tormented or even tortured look linked to the Vodun practice. The purpose of vodun (voodoo) was to enter into a relationship with the spirits to repel harmful forces. Famous in African tribal art, these fetishes bear accessories and thick patinas based on libations and sacrifices.