Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Togo Lome Akodessewa Fetish Market

Akodessewa Fetish Market

The Voodoo Superstore of the world.

Lome, Togo

Added By
Shannon O'Haire
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  Mr Bucket / Atlas Obscura User
  Mr Bucket / Atlas Obscura User
  Mr Bucket / Atlas Obscura User
Skulls at the Fetish Market   By Julius Cruickshank (Originally uploaded to Flickr as Fetish Market) via Wikimedia Commons
A stall at Akodessewa   Dominik Schwarz via Wikimedia Commons
animal heads at the Fetish Market   By Julius Cruickshank from Sydney, Australia (Fetish Market) via Wikimedia Commons
Voodoo free parking doll   ssrichardmontgomery / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Deep in the heart of West Africa, Vodou (Togo); Vodoun (Benin), or more familiarly, Voodoo (Haiti) is not only alive and well, but it is thriving.

Togo's capital city of Lomé is the birthplace of the largest Voodoo market in the world – a kind of super supply store for fetishes, charms and anything else one might need for a ritual. The Akodessewa Fetish Market, or Marche des Feticheurs, is a place where you can find anything from leopard heads and human skulls to Vodou (voodoo) priests who bless and create fetishes or predict the future and make medicines to heal whatever ails you.

Though many people think of Haiti as Voodoo's biggest stronghold, the religion originated in West Africa. Vodoun is the official religion of neighboring Benin and is still the largest religion in the area, which is obvious given that the outdoor market's location is in the heart of Togo's capital. Although the market is owned and run by Beninese. The Akodessewa Fetish Market is a mecca to local practitioners and they travel there from all over the African continent.  Many believers view the Marche des Feticheurs as a kind of hospital or pharmacy – it is the place you go when you either cannot afford traditional treatment or traditional treatment has failed you. Here you can find talismans and charms good for treating everything from the flu or infertility to removing the blackest of curses.

In the practice of Voodoo every single creature is potent and divine, whether alive or dead, and in the Akodessewa Fetish Market you may find them all – monkeys, alligators, goats, leopards, gazelles, and many, many more – in various stages of decay and stacked up in macabre piles for blocks. The outdoor location doesn't quite suppress the stench but at least the huge market is in the open air. It is a jarring place for tourists who are not used to the idea of animal sacrifice as part of worship or using pieces of the dead as talismans, but for locals who practice the religion, it is a treasure and a necessity.

Related Tags

Voodoo Skulls Bones Skeletons Animals

Know Before You Go

Open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Four kilometres from the centre, it can be accessed by taxi or taxi-moto. There is a fee for taking photos.

Community Contributors

Added By

Shannon Ohaire

Edited By

addisonodea, Erin Everywhere, kostas1964ath, ssrichardmontgomery...

  • addisonodea
  • Erin Everywhere
  • kostas1964ath
  • ssrichardmontgomery
  • Mr Bucket

Published

October 22, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lom%C3%A9
  • http://www.colorsmagazine.com/stories/magazine/85/story/fetish-market
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/africa_togo0s_voodoo_market/html/1.stm
  • https://www.lonelyplanet.com/togo/attractions/marche-des-feticheurs/a/poi-sig/440168/355678
Akodessewa Fetish Market
Lome
Togo
6.15763, 1.267067

Nearby Places

La Porte du Non-Retour (The Door of No Return)

Ouidah, Benin

miles away

The Temple of Pythons

Ouidah, Benin

miles away

Amazon Statue

Cotonou, Benin

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Togo

Togo

Africa

Places 3
Stories 3

Nearby Places

La Porte du Non-Retour (The Door of No Return)

Ouidah, Benin

miles away

The Temple of Pythons

Ouidah, Benin

miles away

Amazon Statue

Cotonou, Benin

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Togo

Togo

Africa

Places 3
Stories 3

Related Stories and Lists

9 Sacred and Superstitious Voodoo Sites You Can Visit Today

voodoo

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Inside Togo's Thriving Voodoo Fetish Market

voodoo

By Angelica Calabrese

Shopping for Spells: Exploring Four of the World's Witchcraft Markets

witchcraft

By Cynthia Pelayo

Atlas Obscura's 20 Most Astonishing Discoveries of 2013

By Atlas Obscura

Related Places

  • Araluen, Australia

    Gympie Bone Museum

    Australia's first and only museum dedicated exclusively to bones.

  • Brooklyn Taxidermy.

    Brooklyn, New York

    Brooklyn Taxidermy

    At this hidden studio, the dying art of taxidermy is alive and well.

  • Skulls and bones on display.

    San Martino della Battaglia, Italy

    Ossario di San Martino

    The skulls and bones of thousands of soldiers line the walls of this small Italian chapel.

  • Mammoth skeleton at the centre.

    Whitehorse, Yukon

    Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre

    Home to a full cast of the largest woolly mammoth ever recovered in North America. 

  • 200-year-old skeleton of The King of All Whales

    An Hải, Vietnam

    Lang Tan Temple (Temple of the Whale)

    Home to what locals claim is the largest whale skeleton in Southeast Asia, which is worshiped yearly.

  • Skeleton of the whale.

    Kilbrittain, Ireland

    Kilbrittain Whale

    The skeleton of a whale that beached itself in this Irish town is now on display in their public park.

  • St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

    The Blue Whale at the Core Science Facility

    A massive skeleton suspended in the Memorial University of Newfoundland's Core Science Facility.

  • Albertinia, South Africa

    Skull Garden

    On the grounds of a game lodge, a path decorated with the skulls of all kinds of animals.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.