Adama’s prized possession was his woven “guinea-fowl” shirt. It was called that because its black and white colors were a reminder of the guinea fowl. The design was characteristic of the work of the Tagbana tribe in north-central Ivory Coast. Adama had received the shirt as a child, but even in adulthood he carefully secured it in a safe place. He somehow felt he had to.

Adama’s Search for Success

Adama’s ambition was to succeed in life. His parents were animists, believing that each material object has a soul. So they gave him a fetish object​—the “guinea-fowl” shirt—​for good luck so that he would do well in school. When he failed his school exams, however, he concluded that other students must have had fetishes that were more effective than his.

He spoke to his parents about this, and they now gave him a goat’s horn. By means of a very thin thread, he was to attach this to a nail in the ceiling of his room. In the morning he could consult the fetish object, telling it all that he wanted. Then the thin thread would break! Now, depending on the way the goat’s horn fell, he could decide whether to go ahead with his plans for the day or not. This new fetish, too, proved ineffective.

After Adama finished school, he went to the town of Agboville. There, one of his friends directed him to a fetish priest, who said he could guarantee Adama success in finding a job. Obeying the instructions of the priest, Adama bought a small padlock. He was told to speak into the opening of the padlock and say all the things he wanted in life. “I want to find a job,” he said into the padlock, closed it, and waited for success. But it did not come.

Nevertheless, Adama did not despair. He was sure that he was still protected by the magical charm of his precious “guinea-fowl” shirt.

Adama did eventually find work in the town of San Pedro. It was not the kind of work he wanted, but it was work. In the evening Adama would visit a friend’s home. One evening he found that his friend had a visitor​—a teacher of the Bible. A fervent Catholic, Adama disputed what this visitor had to say. Yet he was intrigued by the idea of studying the Bible to learn about the Creator. One evening when the topic of discussion was “Are There Wicked Spirits?” Adama could not resist participating in the discussion fully. His days as a fetish worshiper were also coming to an end.

The Truth About Fetishes

All three men had come in contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Through a Bible study with the Witnesses, they learned the origin of the spirits. The Bible showed that before the Noachian Flood, angels rebelled against God and materialized so as to enjoy sexual relations with women. The Flood forced the spirits to dematerialize, and they have been trapped in the spirit realm ever since. No wonder these demons place so much emphasis on material objects, such as fetishes!​—Genesis 6:1-5; 2 Peter 2:4.

In time each of these three men built up a love for Jehovah God and a hatred for spiritistic practices. The Bible quite explicitly condemns seeking contact with wicked spirits, saying at Deuteronomy 18:10-12: “There should not be found in you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, anyone who employs divination, a practicer of magic or anyone who looks for omens or a sorcerer, or one who binds others with a spell or anyone who consults a spirit medium or a professional foreteller of events or anyone who inquires of the dead. For everybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah, and on account of these detestable things Jehovah your God is driving them away from before you.” Not wanting Jehovah’s disfavor, the three of them now followed the advice of the Christian disciple James: “Subject yourselves, therefore, to God; but oppose the Devil, and he will flee from you.”​—James 4:7.

Adama, too, had his problems. Desiring to help others break from Satanic influence, he became a full-time preacher. However, for a while he was plagued with feelings of discouragement. He felt that he was not making good progress and that in spite of much Christian activity, his spirituality was low. What could be the reason for such negative thoughts? Suddenly Adama realized that he still had that “guinea-fowl” shirt his parents had given him. He searched his house, finding that last link with the spirit world and destroying it. “I felt greatly relieved in my mind,” he said.

The experiences of these three former captives of superstition confirm that the Word of God is able to work mightily on those who come to believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13; Acts 19:18-20)