AFRICA

A fertility fetish of the Ashante people of Ghana that is carried by a woman who hopes to conceive. 

A spider god and a well-known trickster, whose fame has spread to the United States from Ghana.  

Depicted as a lion with three heads, he is an ancient deity from the kingdom of Nubia, present-day Sudan and Egypt.

A sacred mask worn in adolescent boys’ initiation rites that take place in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.

Created to appease the spirit mate of a man or woman of the Côte d’Ivoire when an earthly mate is chosen.

A dwarf god worshipped in the mysterious Land of Punt, around today's Djibouti and Ethiopia.

A god of the Tumbuka people of Malawi, symbolized in the sky as a rainbow.

The supreme deity of the complex religious system of the Dogon people from Mali.

Worn by Dan women of Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) during dance rituals.

Guards entrances from huts to mansions, mostly seen in Swaziland and its surrounding areas.

Lives on top of Mount Kirinyaga, Kenya. Engai is the supreme deity of the Kikuyu people.

A symbol of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia, it is seen outside churches, worn by priests, and carried in processions.

A god of the pygmies of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Sits on top of funerary boxes to protect the bones of ancestors from Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.  

The magic snake of Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, and the Cabo Verde Islands.

Worn in religious events to symbolize the spirit ancestors of people from Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Used for ceremonies and rituals, it originates from Nigeria, Benin, and Togo.

Have the power to appease ghosts and are found in São Tomé and Príncipe, an island-country off the coast of West Africa.

Originally from Namibia, it ruled as god of death and darkness in the Black Heaven.

Decorated with brass inlays and beadwork, it is used in ritual ceremonies in Ghana.

An evil beast, half demon and half dog, that lives near the Teide volcano on the Canary Islands, an island group off the coast of northwestern Africa.

The winged messenger of death is seen around and above Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia.

The joint name for the male and female twin deities of the Yoruba. Mainly from Nigeria.

A god of Burundi and Rwanda that gave immortality to humans by protecting them from danger.

A traditional rattle used in sacred and ritual ceremonies, it comes from Ghana.

The name of the Masai priest of Kenya who has the power to control animals.

Created from scrap materials to symbolize ancestral spirits. From Angola, DRC, and Zambia.

A clay container filled with spiritual elements. Mostly used in rites in the Cameroon area.

A Kenyan god who descends to a forest in the shape of a palm-tree frond to visit with humans.

Means “demon” and comes from Musambwa, the island of snakes, in Uganda.

From Angola, the face represents female ancestors with large eyes, scarification, and filed teeth.

The formerly nomadic Berber people settled in Morocco. A few still practice Christianity. (Moroccan sculpture)

Made by the women of South Africa and Botswana, they are presented to a bride.

A Zande witch doctor of the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and the DRC.

A sculpture of an evil spirit. It is embedded with nails and is from the Republic of Congo.

Ancient sculptures used as charms, dating back to 500 BCE and originating in Nigeria.

Decorated with shells and topped with horns for initiation ceremonies, it is found in countries that include Mali and Niger.

A god who lives in a whirlpool and is revered by the Tonga of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

An ancient ruler from today's Nigeria, known for his ability to live on both land and water like his symbol the mudfish. 

An early Christian of Algeria, the author of the Confessions (and troubled by demons).

Are highly-revered South African witch doctors who use human bones to heal.

May have been objects of worship of the ancient Sao civilization surrounding the areas of present-day Cameroon and Chad.

Represents the antelope, symbolizing speed and strength, found in traditional Senegal cultures.

Shetani is associated with Satan. The sculptures are from Tanzania and Mozambique.

Worn for its magical properties, it comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The elaborate mask is worn by Sande females of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

A moon and fertility goddess, once revered in ancient Carthage (today's Tunisia). Tanit was also worshiped in Libya.

Are found by the sacred lake Ganga Talao on the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius.

A small malignant spirit that eats people’s toes. Found in Lesotho and South Africa.

Contains sacred stones that are used in divination ceremonies in Nigeria.

Keeps the darkest secrets of the owners and is a highly prized mask from South Africa.