| Fetishism
A fetish (from French fétiche; from Portuguese feitiço;
from Latin facticius, "to make") is a natural object believed
to have supernatural powers, or in particular an object created
by people that has power over people.
History
The concept was coined by Charles de Brosses in 1757, while comparing
West African religion to the magical aspects of Ancient Egyptian
religion. He and other 18th century scholars used the concept to
apply evolution theory to religion. In de Brosses' theory of the
evolution of religion, he proposed that fetishism is the earliest
(most primitive) stage, followed by the stages of polytheism and
monotheism, representing a progressive abstraction in thought.
In the 19th century, philosophers such as Herbert Spencer repudiated
de Brosses' theory that fetishism was the "original religion".
In the same century, anthropologists and scholars of comparative
religion such as E. B. Tylor and J. F. McLennan developed the theories
of animism and totemism to account for fetishism.
Tylor and McLennan held that the concept of fetishism allowed historians
of religion to shift attention from the relationship between people
and God to the relationship between people and material objects.
They also held that it established models of causal explanations
of natural events which they considered false as a central problem
in history and sociology.
Practice
Theoretically, fetishism is present in all religions, but its use
in the study of religion is derived from studies of traditional
West African religious beliefs, as well as Voodoo, which is derived
from those beliefs.
Blood is often considered a particularly powerful fetish or ingredient
in fetishes. In some parts of Africa, the hair of white people was
also considered powerful.
Other uses of the term "fetishism"
- In the 19th century Karl Marx appropriated the term to describe
commodity fetishism as an important component of capitalism.
- Later Sigmund Freud appropriated the concept to describe a
form of paraphilia where the object of affection is an inanimate
object or a specific part of a person; see sexual fetish.
- In the Werewolf: The Apocalypse roleplaying games, fetishes
are weapons or other items with spirits bound to them, enabling
said items to do extraordinary things. An example would be a pistol
with a hawk-spirit that would always shoot the user's target between
the eyes.
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