Ivory Coast: Niofoin Animist Village & Fetish House

Niofoin is a small village in northern Côte d’Ivoire, but it’s famous for its animist culture and religion and two almost ancient fetish houses. Among the traditional small mud huts with thatched roofs, two buildings stand out – they are monumental sacred fetish houses that guard the two fetishes that protect the village; Diby and Kalegbin. The fetishes, also known as black fetishes, protect the village from their enemies. The main mission of this fetish is to send a thick mist avoiding the enemy’s advance towards the town.You can’t enter the houses or see the fetishes, but there is plenty of elaborate stucco and drawings in the exterior. The artwork includes images of animals, human figures, and abstract patterns. Also phenomenal is the roof – the thatched covering is never replaced and only added every two years – one can see how truly ancient there fetish houses are!