The term reliquary refers to a container or repository such as a coffer or shrine which is used to keep or display sacred relics. Relics may be the remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures. Reliquaries are often seen in shrines, churches, or temples. In Central West Africa, reliquaries used for the Bwete rituals contain objects considered magical, or the bones of ancestors, and are commonly constructed with a guardian figure attached to the reliquary.