The biggest Voodoo market in the world - Akodessewa, Togo

Akodessewa is the largest market of fetishes and voodoo in the world, located in the capital of the Republic of Togo, Lome. You could call it a true voodoo supermarket.  This is a strange and unexpectedly welcoming place, which is very different  from any conventional market by selling only fetishes, charms, dead things and all kinds of voodoo paraphernalia. 

The Africans of Togo, Ghana and Nigeria still follow the religion of Voodoo. They believe in shamanic superpowers of their tribe chiefs, in the miraculous power of the gods, in the connection between the spirit of man and the spirit of the animal, and are deeply convinced that one can change his fate and fulfill his wishes. Ground parts of specific animals are considered to be a special medicine. Therefore, while the existence of such an exotic market could be strange for a Westerner,  for Africans it is quite a natural thing. 

Under the scorching sun of Togo, on the counters, there are mountains of cattle skulls, dried heads of monkeys, buffaloes and leopards, bodies of hyenas and foxes, antelopes and gazelles,monkey paws, crocodile teeth and crispy bats.  Many tents of healers and magic men are scattered about in the market, accepting sick patients for healing on the spot. 

There are also houses of worship, where shamans consult with the sacred and all-knowing cowrie shells on how to treat the travelers. Usually the course of healing would be to use selected ashes of a burnt animal, ground into the powder  with some grass.

So, if someone wants to cure his infertility or protect himself from the evil eye, he is sure to find at the Akodessewa market something useful,  if he wanders around the aisles long enough. And no matter how hard someone can try to convince the buyers that all of this is nonsense, they would not listen. This could be understandable because many of our troubles are just in our heads, and only magic can defeat them. 

Gallery: The biggest Voodoo market, Akodessewa, Togo