Alice Lakwena & the Holy Spirits: War in Northern Uganda 1986-97 (Eastern African Studies)

In August 1986, Alice Auma, a young Acholi woman in northern Uganda, proclaiming herself under the orders of a Christian spirit named Lakwena, raised an army called the “Holy Spirit Mobile Forces.” With it she waged a war against perceived evil, not only an external enemy represented by the National Resistance Army of the government, but internal enemies in the form of “impure” soldiers, witches, and sorcerers. She came very close to her goal of overthrowing the government but was defeated and fled to Kenya. This book provides a unique view of Alice's movement, based on interviews with its members and including their own writings, examining their perceptions of the threat of external and internal evil. It concludes with an account of the successor movements into which Alice's forces fragmented and which still are active in the civil wars of the Sudan and Uganda. "In August 1986, Alice Auma, a young woman in northern Uganda, proclaiming herself under the orders of a Christian spirit named Lakwena, raised an army called the 'Holy Spirit Mobile Forces'." "With it she waged a war against perceived evil, not only an external enemy represented by the National Resistance Army of the government, but internal enemies in the form of 'impure' soldiers, witches and sorcerers. She came very close to her goal of overthrowing the government but was defeated and fled to Kenya." "This book gives an internal view of Alice's movement, based on interviews with its members and numerous of their own writings, examining in particular their perceptions of the threat of internal evil. It concludes with an account of the successor movements into which Alice's forces fragmented, including to 'Lord's Resistance Army', now actively involved in the civil wars of the Sudan and Uganda."--Jacket

In August 1986, Alice Auma, a young woman in northern Uganda, proclaiming herself under the orders of a Christian spirit named Lakwena, raised an army called the 'Holy Spirit Mobile Forces'. With it she waged a war against perceived evil, not only an external enemy represented by the National Resistance Army of the government, but internal enemies in the form of 'impure' soldiers, witches and sorcerers. She came very close to her goal of overthrowing the government but was defeated and fled to Kenya. This book gives an internal view of Alice's movement, based on interviews with its members and numerous of their own writings, examining in particular their perceptions of the threat of internal evil. It concludes with an account of the successor movements into which Alice's forces fragmented, including to 'Lord's Resistance Army', now actively involved in the civil wars of the Sudan and Uganda.

Cover 1 Series Page 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Figures & Tables 9 Preface 10 Foreword 14 1. The Troubles of an Anthropologist 16 2. The History & Ethnogenesis of the Acholi 29 3. The Crisis 37 4. The War of the Holy Spirit Mobile Forces 51 5. The Holy Spirit Movement as a Regional Cult 82 6. The March on Kampala 93 7. The History of Religions in Acholi 115 8. Alice & the Spirits 144 9. The Texts of the Holy Spirit Movement 163 10. The War in Acholi, 1987-96 187 Epilogue 206 Bibliography 214 Index 221