likely to become wealthy or attractive through her devotion to Mami Wata. Images of women with children often decorate shrines to the spirit. The Priesthood of Mami Wata The people who inhabit the coastal region from Benin, Ghana and Togo worship a vast pantheon of water deities, of which Mami Wata is most prominent. An entire hierarchy of the Mami Wata priesthood exists in this region to officiate ceremonies, maintain the shrines, conduct healing rituals, and initiate new priests and priestesses into the service of various Mami Wata deities. On February 15, 2020, at 9:00 AM in the city of Cotonou, Benin, Hounnon Behumbeza, a high priest of Vodou and Mami Wata, was officially appointed the Supreme Chief of Mami Wata. As an indication of how revered Mami Wata is in the region, Hounnon Behumbeza's coronation as Supreme Chief of Mami Wata was broadcast live on various television news programs, and featured in local newspapers. The coronation was attended by hundreds of priests from around the region, and the highest dignitaries of Vodou and the Mami Wata tradition. Also in attendance were Benin Republic's minister of culture and several local government officials. Lifelong contract Social disparities in West Africa diffused the belief of individual contracts with spirits as the cause of personal wealth and success in earthly life. Mami Wata embodies the power of money, wealth and fame acquired in the absence of ethical laws and obligations to the neighbour. The unique exception is a lifelong contract somewhere read as private investment or as long-term debt that can be extinguished or promised without being fulfilled. Other associations As other deities become absorbed into the figure of Mami Wata, the spirit often takes on characteristics unique to a particular region or culture. In Trinidad and Tobago, for example, Maman Dlo plays the role of guardian of nature, punishing overzealous hunters or woodcutters. She is the lover of Papa Bois, a nature spirit. Origins and development It is believed that all of ancient Africa possessed a multitude of water-spirit traditions before the first contact with Europeans. Most of these were regarded as female. Dual natures of good and evil were not uncommon, reflecting the fact that water is an important means of providing communication, food, drink, trade, and transportation, but it can drown people, flood fields or villages, and provide passage to intruders. Van Stipriaan suggests that she may be based on