Shrines

Mamy Wata loves expensive items and expects her devotees to put the best in her shrines.  She is especially fond of things that smell good, taste sweet, or shine and glitter and each item is expected to have a mystical, magical power.

"Densely packed and carefully arranged, the shrines are spiritual magnets to attract and please Mami Wata so that her presence and support are assured (Article 2)." 

Here are some of the items often found in building a Mami Wata shrine:

Food: rice, beans, white fowls, eggs, groundnuts, yams, sugar, biscuits

Drinks: fanta soda, coca cola, palm wine, liquor

Kitchen Items: white plates, enamel pans

Furniture: Ritual tables  that resemble Hindu, Christian household altars with candles, bells, incenses, mirrors

Hygiene: European dressing tables with powder and perfume

Art: carvings of Mami Wata, non-African iconographic representations of Mami Water, paintings

Actions: European Dances

Material Objects: European Books, Western objects such as sunglasses, clothes and fancy cloth, umbrellas, modern luxuries, purses, feathers, bottles

The Telephone Pole: "Another expression of her affinity with the spirit is a smaller version of the shrine carving that she placed on top of a pole about 2.5 meters high at the entrance to her compound.  Attached to this carving is a thick rope, which leads to the devotee's house.  This is called a Mammy Wata telephone, for it is claimed that the priestess is warned by this means of any strangers coming into the compound, as well as the purpose of their visit (Article 5).

Military Shrine: In Ghana, a military shrine shows a depiction of Mami Wata on the float.  There are three direct arches in a row: a mermaid (Mami Wata), an elephant, and a whale.  Mami Water is considered the 'Queen of the Sea' but her relevance to iconography is unclear.  The image was taken from European mythology.  The company made a point of conception of the mermaid as a savior of the fisherman.  The elephant and the whale in the three archways are connected with being the largest and strongest animals in their respective domains (Article 1). 

Location of Shrines

Shrines are often located outdoors, near bodies of water or inside small houses or rooms.  Frequently signaled on main roads by red cloth 'banners' or signs portraying a simplified version of a Mamy Wata print.  Shrines off the main road are often designated by long poles with red and/or white cloth streamers.  Below these poles, upside down, half buried glass bottles can be seen arranged in a circle.  Clay water pots, eggs, skulls, white plates, feather clumps, coke bottles, and scattered white chicken feathers signify this as a place of worship and sacrifice.  A red cloth covers the doorway and a string of palm leaves attached to the building or supported by two poles warns the viewer that this indeed a sacred area (Book 1)
 

Size of Shrines

The shrine building itself can vary from a small rectangular, isolated structure within the compound to a larger waterside structure.  Shrines vary from three by three meters to approximately five by four meters, their interiors are basically single enclosures with one entrance and a small window. Larger shrines vary from 10 by 8 meters to 8 by 5 meters and are rectangular with no partitions.  Both types of structures have Mamy Water's signature clothes in red and white displayed on the building or nearby.  Some sort of Mamy Wata motif is painted on the walls-pythons and crocodiles along with geometric designs, dark browns, black, burnt siennas, and earth reds are generally used (Book 1)

Meaning of Some objects
Mirrors are used for reflective and imitative reasons and can be used as a transference from the land to the water.  Liquor bottles and skulls testify to the number of sacrifices made, roots and herbs accumulated are used for medicine for a variety of maladies.  Paddles, like model boats, are featured in shrines as the goddesses' equipment to aid in her invocation. (Book 1)