In our daily lives, we are surrounded by a multitude of objects. Trivial things remind us of past loves. Exotic items represent a longing for distant places, while old things embody an idealized past. We believe that our fate is dependent on certain objects. Karl-Heinz Kohl explains, through numerous examples, the significance of the relationship between humans and their belongings from the perspective of ethnology and the history of religion. It becomes evident that the object cult of archaic and non-European cultures is more familiar to us than we are willing to admit. During their exploratory journeys to West Africa, Portuguese sailors encountered a peculiar cult: it seemingly pertained to arbitrary objects to which the locals attributed a mysterious power. The Portuguese referred to the Africans' cult objects as fetishes.