The word “fetish” (or “fetich”) enters English in 1613 (by way of French

from the Portuguese

) to describe West African charms or amulets which the natives of Guinea believed to have magical powers. “Fetishism”, as a general designation of the habit of believing fetishes, appears in the nineteenth century as part of the growing discipline of comparative religion, notably in John Lubbock (1834–1913),

, and in what is considered the first English anthropological work,

by E.B. Tylor (1832–1917). Fetishism in such works is generally seen as a cultural-historical stage on the way from primitive atheism through animism, fetishism and polytheism to a monotheism which is presumed to be…

793 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Fetishism". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 March 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=384, accessed 23 November 2024.]