Fayenfe
Batammariba · deity · Batammariba traditional religion; continuing · deity
Fayenfe is the war-and-death divinity of the Batammariba (Batammaliba) of Togo and Benin, documented by Suzanne Preston Blier. Unlike the three great cosmological gods (the sun Kuiye, the earth Butan, and the storm god Oyinkakwata), Fayenfe belongs to the class of initiation divinities that seek out their own worshippers, choosing them for qualities such as martial prowess. Blier notes that such divinities exist in male and female forms and may be inherited, captured, or acquired from neighbours; altars to them are set up on and around the fortified tower-house, whose architecture mirrors the community's religious order.
Domains
- war
- death
Powers
- to grant prowess in battle and to preside over death
- to single out and claim its own devotees according to their martial prowess
Relations
- subordinate to: Kuiye
Sources
- Blier, Suzanne Preston. The Anatomy of Architecture: Ontology and Metaphor in Batammaliba Architectural Expression. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
- Blier, Suzanne Preston. 'Houses are Human: Architectural Self-Images of Africa's Tamberma.' Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 42 (1983): 371–382.