In the course of our visits to several Togolese villages we had an opportunity to talk to several voodoo priests.

They spoke about their sacred language(s), about their sacred animals, about the sacred numbers, about their powers, and about their rituals.

One of the themes that we discussed was whether sex has any impact on spirituality. One of our respondents told us that “in our vision of the world, sex is a natural force that can reinforce the spiritual bonds. It is a way to celebrate life and to honor the spirits of fertility and creativity. The Sexual Energy is viewed as a powerful way to connect the spiritual world to the physical one” (K1).

A second priest noted that both sex and spirituality are sacred and each of them has its weaknesses and its strengths (V1). The third did not think that sex and spirituality could be possibly connected in any way, while the fourth priest told us that “sex can be utilized to connect oneself with the spirits and to reinforce the bonds with the divinities” (A2)

One interesting thing that were discussing with the voodoo priests was whether having sexual intercourse may have some repercussions on their rituals and spirituality.

The responses we received were by and large unequivocal. One of the voodoo priests said that “before certain important rituals, it is crucial to keep physical and spiritual purity” (K1). The same opinion was voiced by the second (V1) and the third (A1) priest with whom we spoke. The fourth priest – interestingly a woman – gave us a partially different answer as he said that “it is wise to practice complete sexual abstinence before (performing) all sacred rituals” but then he added “by contrast, sexual energy is at times integrated in the rituals to invoke specific forces or to reach an elevated spiritual level” (A2))