The Yakan or Allah Water Cult Among the Lugbara

Author(s): John Middleton

Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.
93, No. 1 (Jan. - Jun., 1963), pp. 80-108
Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
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 The Yakan orAllahWaterCultamongtheLugbara
JOHN MIDDLETON

MANY RELIGIOUS CULTS have beenreportedfromvariouspartsoftheworldwhichhave

arisenapparentlyas a responseto Europeanor otherexternalcontact,and whichhave
had as one oftheiraspectsthedevelopment ofa newformofsocialorganization in place
of,or in additionto,a traditional organization whichhas beeninadequateto deal with
theagentsofthatcontact.In East Africathe Maji-majirevoltofTanganyikawas one
suchmovement, and theappearanceofprophetsamongtheNuerofthesouthern Sudan
was a similarphenomenon.
A cultofthistype,ofwhichthehistory can be givenin reasonabledetail,is thatof
Yakan, Yakani,Yakag or YakanyeamongtheLugbara. It appearedamongtheLug-
bara at theendofthenineteenth century, and thecultwas centreduponthedrinking of
sacredor magicwater.The Uganda Administration became aware of it duringthe
FirstWorldWar, whentherewas considerableunrestwhichculminatedin affrays in
I9I9 and i920; it was knownto theAdministration as theAllahWaterCult.It is stillin
existenceamongthe Lugbara to-day,althoughin a different form,as one of several
spiritcults.Besidesaffecting theLugbara it was practisedamongmanyneighbouring
peoples,and featured in theUganda MutinyofI897. To-dayall oldermenin northern
and easternLugbara (it was lessimportant in thesouthand west)knowabout it and
remember itsgreaterdaysin detail.In discussion withthemI have beenleftin no doubt
as to theimmenseimportanceof thiscultforthe Lugbara,althoughgovernment dis-
approvalofit meanseven to-daythatit is not a subjectspontaneously brought up in
conversation withEuropeans.One oftheadministrators involvedin thesuppression of
thecultin Lugbara,thelate Mr J. H. Driberg,wrotean accountofit (DribergI93I),
mostofwhichis basedupona longreportmade fortheAdministration bytheprincipal
Lugbara government Agentat thetime,thelate Fadl el-Mula Murjan, who had been
one ofEmin Pasha's Equatorialtroopsand had been in the Lado Enclave regionsince
the I880s.1 I have seenhisoriginalreportand in this paper make use ofit and ofother
at
unpublishedmaterialin the districtarchives Arua, as well as of my own material
gatheredfromLugbarawhotookpartin thecult.
The Lugbara are a Sudanic-speaking peopleofnorth-west Uganda and thenorth-
east Congo, and number almost a quarter of a million. They are sedentarymilletfar-
mers,living on a high open plateau of considerable with
fertility, a good and well-
distributed rainfall.
Thereis no centralizedpoliticalauthority in thetraditional system. The basicsocial
unitis whatI call a familycluster,a groupingconsisting ofseveraljointand compound
families. The wholeis undertheauthority ofan elder,thegenealogically seniormanofa
patrilineallineagewhichprovidesthecoreforthefamilycluster.Relationswithinthe
familyclusterare controlled bythecultofthedead, and relationsbetweenclusters other
8o

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA

0 20 40 Lo 9o *oo
J ,, ~~~XyanjbDara
/
A~~tan4~ JUJBA.,

44\ PAvah*ya
YEtI

**ft I-OKA KAXi

KA&' K0
Logo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~g

1K WRATI
ARUIA J?'

CMONgO ou

tribalareas.
MAP I. Lugbara and thesurrounding

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82 JOHN MIDDLETON

thanthosecloselyrelatedbyagnatickinshipweretraditionally sanctionedby theopera-

tionofthefeudand warfare.Familyclusters are groupedintounitswhichmaybe called
sub-tribes, each ofwhichis associatedin name and ancestry witha sub-clan;thisis a
segmentof a clan, the latterbeinga large,dispersedand non-corporate grouping.A
sub-tribeaveragesabout 4,000 people,livingin a territory ofsometwenty-five square
miles.There are some sixtysub-tribes in Lugbara.2Fightingbetweensub-tribes was
endemic,and couldbe settledonlyby thepartiesbecomingtiredoffighting and allow-
ing it to lapse. It mighteasilyflareup again and could neverpermanently be settled.
Withina sub-tribe, however, it couldbe broughtto an endbytheactionofa rainmaker.
In thetraditional system,beforethecreationofchiefsby theEuropeanadministration,
therewere no authorities higherthan the eldersexceptforrainmakers(opiezo) and
'menwhosenamesare known'('ba rukuza)who acted as warleadersand peacemakers.
In northern Lugbara thereis one rainmaker in each sub-tribe;he is theseniorman of
theseniorlineofthesub-clanaroundwhichthesub-tribe is formed.'Men whosenames
are known'are influential and wealthymenwhosewordscarryweight:theyare said to
be 'likegreattreesin theforestagainstwhichsmallertreeslean'. The positionofrain-
makeris hereditary; thatof'manwhosenameis known'is not.Botharesubsumedunder
underthegenerictermopi.
Lugbara possessno written recordsand it is notpossibleto reconstruct
historical all
detailsof social organizationas theywere beforethe comingof the Europeans.It is
possible,however,to reconstruct the main outlinesof theirsociety,and to tracethe
earlycontactswithArabs and withEuropeans.There has presumablyalwaysbeen
contactwiththeneighbouring peoples,whofeatureconsistently in Lugbaramythology,
especiallythe Kakwa, the Keliko, and the Madi. The Kakwa are the immediate
neighboursof the Lugbara to the northand north-west. They are Nilo-Hamiticin
speech,speakinga dialectofBari. But theyare in manywaysverysimilarto theLug-
bara and bothpeopleshave mythsto telloftheircommonorigin.Many oftheirclans
are thesamein name,and thereis muchintermarriage and othertraffic betweenthem.
To thenorthand eastoftheKakwa are severalothersmallpeoplesverylikethem:the
Kuku,thePojulu,theNyangbara,theNyefuand others.To theeastoftheLugbaraare
theMadi or Ma'di, whoselanguageshowsonlydialectaldifferences fromLugbara.To
thewestare otherSudanic-speaking peopleswhoselanguagesare likewiseveryclose,
theKelikoand theLogo. BeyondtheLogo are thestatesofAzandeand Mangbetuand
a clusterofsmallpeopleswhowerebrokendownduringthenineteenth centurybyArab
slaversand ivorypoachersand bytheempire-building Azande.
The southernSudan was subjectedto variousdegreesofArab influence throughout
mostofthenineteenth century. Therewas almostcontinualivorytradingand slavingby
Arabsduringthisperiod,butit seemscertainthattheyneverpenetratedtheLugbara
highlands. They,and officers oftheEgyptianadministration, enteredKakwa and setup
postsat variousplacestothenorthand west.Theyalsosetup postsatJandaand Kenyi's
(the modernKoboko) both in Kakwa country,only a fewmilesfromthe Lugbara
border,and othersat Kalika's and Bagbei's,both in Keliko country.Lugbara were
takenas slaves,butit seemsbyKakwa, Lugbara,and otheragentsactingforArabsand
notbyArabsthemselves.3 In I877 Dr JunkerreachedthesourceoftheKibi and named
thethreemountainmassifsthatarisein thecentreofLugbara MountsGessi,Gordon

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 83
and Baker (Liru, Eti and probablyLuku). JunkerenteredLugbaralandand got to
withina fewmilesofthepresent-day government stationofArua,butdid notreachthe
In
mountainsthemselves. I892 theBelgians Van Kerckhovenand Milz enteredLug-
baraland,the lattercrossingthe country from west to east (Lotar I946, pp. I35-42).
Europeanspassedup and downtheNile,fifty milestotheeastofLugbara,fromthetime
ofMiani's visitto Dufilein i86o. The mostimportant was EminPasha, who stayedat
in
Wadelai, southernMadi, from I885 until I889; however,he neverenteredtheLug-
barahighlands, rise
which up as an escarpment fromthelow-lying NileflatsnearWadelai.
The northern Lugbara ofto-daystillspeakoffourpartiesof'Arabs',whichmighthave
includedEuropeans,whoenteredtheircountryas travellers beforeI 900g theyearwhen
theBelgiansfirstsetup an administrative post in the country,and thesetravellers had
somecontactwith more important local men ofstanding; but it was veryslight.
Besidesexternalcontact,othereventsoccurredat theend ofthenineteenth century
whichaffected the Lugbara. The first
outbreak of cerebro-spinal meningitis, which is
now epidemic almosteverydryseason, seems to have taken place between I890 and
I895. Therewereseveralfamines, therebeingan especiallysevereone about I895, and
possiblyoutbreaksofsmallpoxand plague. Therewerealso seriousoutbreaksofcattle
sickness,probablyrinderpest. BeforethisLugbara had largeherdsof cattle,but they
weregreatlyreducedbothbysickness and also bypersistent raidingbyslaversand other
theAzande (Schweinfurth
tribes,particularly et.al. I 888,p. 365).
In additionI have heard it said by old men thatabout the timethe Europeans
appearedland crowdingbeganto be a problem.In theareaswherethisovercrowding is
said to have occurred,thenorthern countiesofMaraca and Ole'ba, thesoilis thinand
thereare largeareassetasideforgrazingwhichare almostuselessforcultivation. Men
say that the activitiesof the slaversled to the influxof westernLugbara, Kakwa,
Keliko, and otherswho soughtthe shelterof the Lugbara highlands,and thatover-
crowding was theimmediateconsequence.

II

The Lugbara themselves were not greatlytroubledby slavers,presumablyowingto

theirremoteness fromthe main slave routes;but almostall the otherpeoplesof this
regionwereseriously affected
by them.The SudanIntelligenceReport(I908) statedthat
the 'Dervishes'(the Mahdi'sforces)attemptedto enterwesternLugbara,butwerere-
pulsedby them.Many earlytravellers describedthedespoliationand depopulationof
the southernSudan by the slaversand 'Khartoumers',the tradersand otherriff-raff
whofollowedtheslavecaravans(JunkerI892, SchweitzerI898; see also CollinsI962).
This,and afteri88i theriseoftheMahdi, MuhammadAhmadibn al-SayyidAbdulla,
who by his defeatofHicksPasha in I883 and ofGeneralGordonin i885 had gained
controlofall theSudan butfortheverysouth,clearlyhad deep repercussions upon the
waysoflifeoftheindigenouspeoplesofthearea. In I883 theAgarDinka revoltedand
killedthe garrisonof Rumbek,a districtdescribedbyJunkeras beingutterlylooted
and ruinedby theslaversa fewyearsearlier.Fadl el-Mula Murjan,theauthorofthe
reportI havementioned above,reportedto DribergthattheDinkakilledeighthundred
troopsafterhavingdrunkthe'waterofAllah'.Thisis theearliestreference I havefound
tothe'Allahwatercult'.

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84 JOHN MIDDLETON

Driberg in his account consideredthat the water cult was connectedwith the Beli or
Nebeli cult whichintegratedmany tribesofthe southernSudan against the overlordship
of the Azande. This is referredto in Fadl el-Mula Murjan's report,which reads (in
part):
'Two yearsafterRumbektheDervishesattackedtheSudan postofMadi and aftereigh-
teenmonths'fighting retired,thoughtheyhad causedthegovernment troopsto evacuate.
ShortlyafterthistheDinka came downand sold theAllah waterto theBari,tellingthem
it would rendertheminvulnerableif theyattackedthe government(I was a buglerin
thosedays). Emin Pasha was thenat Dufile,and whenLado was accidentallyburntwe all
concentrated at Rejaf,and it was onlyby callingup troopsofSilai, Kiri, Mogi, Lebere,
Kuraya,Dufile,Patiko,and Wadelai thatwe wereable to defeattheBari.
'AftertheDervishesagain came and droveus fromDufiletotheAlurcountry, Magoro,
chiefof the Mondo, obtainedAllah waterfromthe Dinka, seeingthat the Dinka had
previouslybeen successful againsttheNubi as a resultofdrinkingthiswater.The whole
tribedrank this water in the expectationof a Dervishraid, and when the Dervishes
attackedtheydrovethembackwithgreatloss.
'The Avukayathenwentto Magoro and asked how he had managed to defeatthe
Dervisheswho had alreadyroutedthe Nubi. Magoro repliedthat it was due to Allah
waterwhichmade theminvulnerablebothto spearsand guns.The Avukayaboughtthe
waterand werefollowedby the Moro, the Pajelu, and the Nambara. Afterdrinkingthe
waterthesefivetribescombinedand waged a victoriouswar againstthe Kakraka, the
mostpowerful tribeat thattimein thevicinity.'4
About I890 a man called Lagaru or Lagoro obtained the water fromthe Mundu
chiefMagoro, and Rembe, a Kakwa, obtained it fromLagoro. Lagoro, or Logworo as
the Lugbara referto him to-day,was also a Kakwa, and both he and Rembe were later
to dispense the water to the Lugbara. Lagoro lived near chief Laesu's village about
sixteenmiles fromLoka, in Kakwa country.Loka is about thirty-five miles northof the
Uganda boundary and some fortymiles north of the Lugbara: it was one of the two
Sudan governmentstationsin Kakwa, the otherbeing Yei. Rembe was the son ofAchu
or Lado, who was also at one time a dispenserof Allah water. He was of the Yudu or
Yidu clan and lived in chiefDonju's territorynear the Kaia river,the presentboundary
between the Kakwa and the Lugbara. The Loka area featuresin the later historyof the
cult as a centreforthe distributionofthe water,and what was almost certainlythe same
shrinewas destroyedby the Sudan governmentin I9I4.5
About I89I or I892 Rembe and his fatherwere visited by a Lugbara, Anziku, the
fatherof Alima, a man of Biliefein Terego, in eastern Lugbara. Anziku obtained the
water and then passed some to Mba, who was also of Terego and was later appointed
chiefof Terego under the Belgian administration.Mba passed it to Kamure of Ofude,
Adia of Terego, and Njenje and Boroa of Omugo, all of whom were also later made
chiefs.
Emin Pasha withdrewfromWadelai in I889, leaving fourcompanies of troopsthere
under Fadl al-Mula Bey. A patrol of eightymen was sent inland towards Terego and
completelywiped out by Lugbara who had been drinkingAllah water. They were led
by Taaka ofBiliefe,holdingin his hands the cult emblems,a bowl used fordispensingthe
water, and a branch of inzuwood.6 An avengingpatrol fromWadelai was also defeated
at Aupi, on the eastern side of Mount Eti. In the firstaffrayonly one Lugbara was
injured, and in the second none, although the Equatorial troopslost sixtymen and an

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 85

officer.Driberg mentionsin his account that women of Omugo and Biliefe still wore
bracelets made of the iron of the riflesof these Wadelai troopsin his day, about I920.
People ofAupi and Udupi stillmentionthe fightswith Emin's troopsfromWadelai, and
can point to the sitesof the battles.And I have been told that some of the originaliron
braceletsstillexist,although I have not seen one.
In I900 the Belgians set up a post at Ofude. The Equatorials were collected at
Bangali's headquarters at Yei. Fadl el-Mula Murjan mentionsthat some attemptswere
made to carryon the cult under the Belgian occupation, 'but the risingsmet with in-
differentsuccess, and drinkingstopped, the sacred water being finished'.But the posi-
tion of the principal adherentsalso changed under the Belgians, as I relate below, and
thiswas probably the main reasonforthe cessationofcult activity.
Murjan's account thentellsofthelater historyofthe cult outside Lugbara:
'The Dervishesagain comingsouth,the fourcompaniesretiredbeforethem.Two were
destroyed nearRelli,buttwoescaped,one establishing itselfat Aiyugiand one at Mahagi.
The Belgiansabandonedthemand withdrewinland.At a laterdate Major Prestonfound
us and tookus to Masindi,in Bunyoro,withmanynativesof different tribeswho were
either"boys" or porters.They eventuallyenlisted.I was sentwiththirty mento establish
Mahagi, and on myreturnto MasindifoundthatsomeoftheMakrakaportershad taken
overAllah waterand thatthe cultwas flourishing amongthe troops,a CorporalLemin
Marjuk,now at Gulu, beingtheprincipaladministrant. FromMasindi thecultspreadto
Kampala and Entebbe,whereits existencewas discovered,the local leader Kenyilegi,
H.E.'s orderly,being arrestedand imprisonedforone year. Though severalattempts
were made the cult continuedverystrongly among the Nubi troops,the cult promising
rifles,ammunition,clothesand immunity.It was said that if a European even triedto
arresta memberofthe culthis handswould at once witherup. The cultdevelopedmost
strongly in Busoga underRehan Tobi EffendiofNo. XIV Company,and whendisaffec-
tion culminatedin the mutinyall the Nubis were membersof the cult. Everyday the
shrinesof Yakany were visitedand promiseswere made of riflesand ammunitionand
victoryovertheEuropeans.In theearlymorningthewaterwas pouredoverthevotaries.
Kenyilegiwho had thenbeen releasedtook no further part in the movementand was
promotedto corporalforhisloyaltyin Busoga.'
Driberg in his articleconsideredthatthe cult spread throughoutEast Africawiththe
dispersal of the remnantsof Emin Pasha's troops, and that it was the same cult that
inspired the Maji-maji revolt against the Germans in Tanganyika in 1905. Although
therewere some similarities(and Maji is the Swahili for'water'), it would seem that in
fact the cults associated with the Maji-maji revoltoriginatedeitherin Tanganyika or in
Central Africa (Crosse-Upcott I960). The cult continued in the southernSudan in the
years immediatelyafteri 9oo-a dispensercalled Wani Yoga, whose fatherwas a Bari
and mother a Lokoya, was expelled fromBelinian, near Gondokoro, in I907.7 It was
later to re-appear among the Kakwa as it did also among the Lugbara, but I have no
moreinformationabout it in theyearsbetween I900 and I91 2.
The cult re-appeared among the Dinka about I920. Driberg wrote:
'In I920 and I92I therewas a spate of sacred springsamong the Dinka, whichwas
associatedwithpossiblerevolutionary movements ofthesame natureas Yakan. Thus it is
reportedthat,a miraculousspringhavingappeared, therewas greatlocal excitement,
and itwas anticipatedthatall sectionsoftheNuer and Dinka wouldbe affected
as wellas
the Mandari. A similarincidentwas said to have occurredin the timeof the Mahdist

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86 JOHN MIDDLETON

and to have been followedimmediately

government, by thewithdrawalofMahdistforces
from
thelocality'(Driberg1931, p. 418).
And an articlewrittenin I 928 by C. A. Willis on the same phenomenonstated:
'There was a recrudescence offalseprophetsamongtheNuer and Dinka some tenyears
ago; theoriginofitwas said to be theAgarDinka who had a root,thepossessionofwhich,
withtheproperritualand conditions,gave thebearerthepowerto perform miracles.It
is possiblethe theorymay be mixed up with the troubleof the sacred lake or "Allah
Water" whichoccurredabout thattime.It is allegedthatthetwoNuerwhowererecently
foundin theShillukcountrycausingtroublebelongedto thisdispensation'(WillisI928).
The referenceto 'false prophets'is to personswho claimed to be possessed by the spirit
of Deng, whom the Dinka claim as the son of God.8 These prophetsbuilt mud pyramids
and were attended by a group of women dressed in special dress and singingthe pro-
phets' praises.
Before discussing the later phase of the cult in Lugbara, after I9I2, it is worth
consideringsome of the points already made in thisaccount. I have already mentioned
the occurrenceof meningitis,smallpox, cattle disease and famines.In its later phase the
cult was partlya responseto a spread of epidemics and we may conclude that thiswas
also partlyrelevant earlier. But therewas clearly also an emphasis upon external con-
tact. All the tribes who obtained the water in turn did so to use it against military
threatsfromoutside. These threatswere fromthe Mahdi's Dervishes,fromthe Azande,
and later fromEmin's Equatorial troops: the cult at that period was not directedspeci-
ficallyagainst European or even Arab contact. Throughout the period there was con-
tinual unrestand raiding and the spread of the cult was clearly a response. It is signifi-
cant that the firstLugbara to obtain the waterfromthe Kakwa did not come fromthose
Lugbara nearest the Kakwa, but fromBiliefeand Terego, the sectionsnearestWadelai
and the Nile and some thirtymilesor morefromthe Kakwa. There had been Europeans
and Arabs passing down the Nile Valley forsome thirtyyears or so, and although they
rarely penetratedfar inland across the inhospitable Nile flats,they seem to have had
some effecton the Madi of Moyo and so upon the north-easternLugbara ofAringa and
Udupi. This increased considerablyafterEmin's occupation of Wadelai in I885. There
were many troopsat Wadelai and theirpresenceseems to have disturbedthe traditional
trade in Madi fishand Lugbara grain.9
The acceptance of the cult by Emin's Equatorial troopsis interesting.These troops
consistedof men fromall parts of the southernSudan, who were or who became Mus-
lims. Fadl el-Mula Murjan's reportgives a listof the main dispensersof waterwho were
still in the region about I920, with details of their tribal origins: they include Bari,
Lotuka, Moru, Kuku, and others.The cult was able temporarilyto ally groupsfromthe
many small tribesthreatenedby the Azande and Arabs, and this aspect of it, that of
enabling membersof differentgroups to merge theiridentityas adherentsof a single
new cult,was also apparent in thelater phase.
The water always came frompeoples outside: thisfallsinto the patternof Lugbara
believing that neighbouringtribesare 'inverted' and the possessorsof magic and evil
sorcery(Middleton I96oa, chap. V; I954). And it was always obtained in exchange for
iron,eitherin the formofspears and hoes or oflumps ofiron ore. These were the articles
traditionallyused for bridewealth among the Lugbara-and I was told by Kakwa

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 87

informantsamong the Kakwa also-before the use ofcattle became common afterI900.
Lugbara have told me that 'buying' (je) the water was exactly like obtaining oracle
poisonsfromthe Ndu, Logo, and othertribesof the Congo. All thesethingsare danger-
ous and the objects of taboos. They are boughtfromstrangersand non-kinsmenwho are
fearedas sorcerersand the exchange is a completeand finalone, beingoutsidethesystem
of exchanges between kinsmen.I was told that when a man buys food in a markethe
knows the seller and will meet her again, but that when a man travelsfar away to buy
poisons he does not know the seller.He makes a singlecomplete exchange in order that
the seller's sorceryand magic may not 'follow' the objects and later harm him. He is
thereforetheir complete owner, with control of the dangerous power inherentin the
objects, ifhe knowshow to controlit-but at least no one else knowshow to do so. He
can thensell theobjectsto otherpeople in thesame way, althoughifa man sells to fellow-
Lugbara thenbuyer and sellerare not in an impersonal'stranger'relationshipto such a
degree. But such thingsare exchanged impersonallybetween Lugbara of distant sub-
clans whlch nevernormallycome into contact.

III
In I900 the Belgians began to administerthe area. They set up a post at Ofude, in
northernLugbara. This was the headquarters of the administrativesub-districtknown
as Mont Wati, the post being knownby the same name. A second Belgian postwas setup
in I905 at Alenzori where therewas a farmforbreeding transportoxen. By the end of
the Belgian administration,in I907, there were five Europeans at Ofude, living in
stone houses, and two at Alenzori. There were also staging and rest camps at Aringa,
Wadelai, Dufile, and Kajo Kaji. Headquarters of othersub-districtswere at Mahagi to
the south,in Alur, and at Gurba Durgu, in westernLugbara. The Ofude post was sup-
ported by about 250 Congolese troops, called Tukutuku by the Lugbara and much
feared by them.10Newcombe reportedthat the only people who submittedto the Bel-
gians in Mont Wati were Kakwa, who were used as portersand interpreters, and to the
south the Alur also submitted;but the Belgians seem to have been able to do littlewith
the Lugbara. The post was supplied withgrain and cattle takenfromthe local Lugbara.
The SudanIntelligenceReport( I908) stated:
'Grain is takenfromthe Lugwareby occasionalpatrolswhichgo to thevariousvillages
and collectit, the nativesdesertingtheirvillageson the approach of soldiers,who are
accompaniedby a Europeanon theseexpeditions.Grainis also sentfromKajo Kaji and
fromtheKakwa sheikhsKegni,Bagbei,etc.'
Not unnaturally the Lugbara resistedthe Administration,except in the immediate
vicinityof the post itself,and to-day they tell of continual skirmishingand raiding by
both sides, the Tukutuku seekinggrain, cattle and women and the Lugbara tryingto
get themback. The same reportmentionsthat 'no one travelsin thiscountrywithoutan
escort,roads are closed to merchants'.
The Belgians appointed a few chiefs,known as Makoto, a Lingala word. I know
nothingof the firstLugbara to visitthe Kakwa to buy water, Anziku of Biliefe.But the
otherswere appointed chiefsby the Belgians. Mba was made the firstchief,with author-
ity over the countryto the immediate east and south of Ofude, and Kamure was made

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88 JOHN MIDDLETON

chiefoftheOfudearea itself.These menwereknownas opi(chiefs)oftheYakan cult.I

was toldat OfudethatMba, Kamure,and otheropiwereput forwardto theBelgian
administrator whenhe askedforthemoreimportant peopleofthearea. NeitherMba
nor Kamurewererainmakers. They wereregardedas 'men whosenamesare known'
('ba rukuza),but it is not clear whethertheyacquired the waterbecause theywere
already'men whosenames are known'or were acceptedas 'men whosenames are
known'becausetheyhad acquiredthewater.Butitwouldseemthattheformer was the
case: I wastoldthatmenwenttoKakwa togetthewater'becausetheywerebigmenwho
wantedto help theirpeople'. And it wouldbe unlikelythatanyonebut an important
mancouldhave travelledas faras did Anziku-a 'man whosenameis known'is said to
have been able to travelto othersub-clanterritories in safety.Most of the opiof the
Yakan cult seem to have been relatedby kinship,and certainlymostof the chiefs
appointedby theBelgianswereso related.Whenappointedtheyalso putin theirsons
and sisters'sonsas theirassistants.They became extremely wealthyand werepaid in
cattle.Theybeganthepracticeofmarrying withcattlebridewealth.It is significantthat
therainmakers werein no case appointedchiefsby theEuropeans.It is said thatwhen
theBelgianscame theyran away to theirrain-groves to protecttheirrainstones, and to
thisday theirauthority has been outsidethatof the government chiefs.Chiefssoon
became unpopular,as theyweregiventhedutyoflevyingtributein cattleand grain,
and theybecame knowngenerically as Mundu('rifle')or Ogara'ba('axe-man'),words
usedforEuropeanswho have powerand forLugbara whosepowercomesfromthatof
theEuropeans(Middletonig6ob).
The Belgianswithdrew fromthepostat MountEti in I907, and thearea nowknown
as WestNile Districtbecame part of the Sudan; the Belgiansmaintainedcontrolof
westernLugbara,in the Congo. DuringtheSudan regimeLugbara was administered
fromKajo Kaji, on the Madi-Kuku borderto the north-east. Althoughtherewere
occasionaltoursby officers theAdministration was littlemorethannominal.The Bel-
gian-appointed chiefslostmuchoftheirpower,althoughtheyretainedtheirwealthand
considerableinfluence.The yearsbetweenI907 and I9I4, when the Lado Enclave
passedto Uganda, weremarkedby Kakwa and Pojulu raids,and by theincursionof
Europeanand Arabivoryhunters whocreatedhavocthroughout theregion,whichthen
containedvastherdsof elephant.There was also endemicsleepingsicknessin eastern
Lugbara, and much movementof population.To-day Lugbara say that thiswas a
periodofcontinualfighting, sickness,and famine.""
In I9I4 thearea, thesouthernpartoftheEnclave,becamepartofUganda, and a
new administrator, Mr A. E. Weatherhead,came to take over. He was a vigorous
official,whogotridofthelastivorypoachers,stoppedmuchlocal warfare, setup a new
postat Arua,introduced taxation,and re-appointed mostoftheformer chiefs.
Weatherhead'sappearancemarksthebeginningofthesecondphase oftheYakan
cult,as faras government recordsgo. It may,however,have been in existenceduring
theinterregnum, butinformation is lackingand Lugbara do notrecollectdatesclearly
enoughformetostatethepositionwithanydegreeofaccuracy.
IV
The secondphaseofthecultbeganabout I9I2, possiblya yearor twoearlier.I was able

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 89
to obtaina gooddeal ofinformation aboutthisphasefrommenwhohad beenadherents
ofthecult.It was markedby thecomingofRembehimself to Lugbara to dispensehis
waterand to organizethecult.Lettersand reportsin theDistrictOffice,Arua,imply
thatRembewas neverin Lugbaraitself, butin Kakwa country, butI have spokenwith
so manyLugbara who claim to have seen him,spokenwithhim,and attendedrites
performed by him,thatit is clear thattheAdministration was misinformed. I do not
knowhowlongRembe stayedin Lugbara,butit maynothave been morethana few
months.I haveheardit saidthatRembein factcametwiceto Lugbara,oncejustbefore
theBelgiansin I 900 and againaboutthetimeofthearrivalofMr A. E. Weatherhead in
I9I4. His clan,Yudu, neartheKakwa boundary,is one ofseveralKakwa clanswhose
membersspeak both Kakwa and Lugbara, and Rembe could speak Lugbara as a
Lugbara. His assistant, a Kakwa called Yondu or Yendu,certainly stayedin Lugbara
fora considerable timebeforeI 9 I 9. It isjustconceivablethatpopularmemoryconfuses
the two men,but I doubtit. More is knownabout Yondu, as he stayedfora longer
period.When Rembe was not in Lugbara he seemsto have stayedat his home near
Loka, and therehe workedin conjunction withLagoro,theKakwa whohad also been
prominent duringtheearlierphaseofthecult.
Rembe enteredLugbara at Ole'ba, near the Kakwa borderto thewestof Mount
Liru. I do notknowtheexactdate,butit was almostcertainly in I 9 I 2 or I 9 I 3, several
yearsbeforethecultacquireditslateranti-European aspect.He movedthrough Maraca
and Oluvu and perhapsintowesternTeregocounties.His base was in theterritory of
thelineagecalled Miutini,in Ole'ba. Therehe planteda pole ofthetreecalled kuzu.
This he calleddini(fromtheArabicwordfor'religion')and riteswereperformed round
it.At thetopofthepolewas placeda branchofinzuwood,a woodwhichwas laterto be
used in all ceremonies ofthecult.Neitherkuzunorinzuare used in any otherritesor
ceremonies, as faras I know.
NearbyRembe had a snake oracle in a pool at Ajebi, near the Uganda-Congo
borderin Ole'ba. The snakewas calleddedeand is said to have been'likea python(ara)
butofmanycolours'.Otheraccountssaythatit was half-man, half-water-snake, and I
have also heardit said thatitwas likea greatmonitor lizardofmanycolours(themoni-
torlizard was used as the main cult-emblem on the pots used fordispensingwater).
Snake-oracles arenototherwise knownin Lugbara.12It is said tohave 'knownthewords
ofdede'-dedewas thealternative namefortheYakan cult-and to 'have toldus thatwe
shoulddrinkYakani waterso as notto be sick'.The wordusedforit,andri, is thegeneric
termusedforall oracles,whichare usedbytheLugbaramainlytodiscoverthecausesof
sicknessand onlyrarelyto foretell thefuture.Rembe'sassistantand successor, Yondu,
had a powerful oracle,whichhe calledhisacife,thewordusedfortheordinary rubbing-
stickoracle.It is said that'peoplewentto Yondu's acifewhentheirownacifetoldthem
lies'. He also had a powerful oraclecalledenyiriko ('skin'or 'leather')whichconsistedof
stripsof hide whichhe threwout in frontof him. This typeof oracleis not used by
Lugbara but is knownto-dayby the Kakwa of Rigbo and Emvepi,on the Nile near
Madi territory. I do not knowwhatkindof utterances his oraclesmade, notin what
connexiontheywereconsulted.It maybe asked,however,whyLugbarabelievedin the
new oracles.All thatcan be said is that'thesewordscame fromSpiritand we listened
and believedthemtobe truein ourhearts'.Someold menhavetoldme aboutthesnake-

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90 JOHN MIDDLETON

oracle with some amusement,saying that they were misled at the time but knew no
better,as theywere in distressand clutched at any strawforconfidenceand help. It is
not possible now to say more, except that thereis no doubt that at the time this oracle
was accepted as givingthe wordsofSpiritto men, to help them.
I have an eye-witnessaccount of Rembe's visitto Maraca, where he placed his pole
at Pabura, near the home ofthe rainmaker.His son, the presentrainmaker,told me that
Rembe came, placed his 'tree' (pati) and performedthe ritesofYakan:
'Rembe said "I have placed heremy a'bi tree [the treeplantedon a grave],let people
comeherewithfoodand beer,and letthemdance theirongo[deathdance] here.This tree
is now yourtree."He gave us thetree,so we did notrefuseit. It helpedus, and myfather
and foodbroughtto thetree.He became "like a Sultan" ofYakan and
"ate" thewristlets
thewaterofYakan givento himby Rembe. Rembe walkedand put those
he distributed
trees,everywhere,one in everysub-clanarea, in Maraca, in Terego,in Kijomoru,every-
where.Then peoplecame to thetree,and gave foodand wealthto the"chief".They came
fromall Maraca, and also othermen. In theevening,everyday,theydanced,likea koro.
The dance was calledyakanituzu,a'bi ndua("to dance yakanat thefootofthea'bi tree").'
However, Rembe did not stay forlong; certainlyaccounts of him are confinedto a
verysmall area of Ole'ba and Maraca. It was his followerYondu or Yendu who spent
more time in Lugbara, althoughit is always Rembe's name which is firstrecalled in any
discussionof the cult. Yondu was also a Kakwa, and was originallyRen-ibe'sassistant:
he obtained the water directlyfromRembe. In Lugbara Yondu wore a metal crown on
his brow and metal ankletsup to his knees,both articlesunknownin Lugbara. He called
himselfa 'chief', opi. There seem also to have been other,more shadowy, figuresfrom
Kakwa, but informationabout themis confusedand by thistime mythical.There were
certainly many Lugbara who crossed into Kakwa to Rembe's homestead and there
obtained water. The cult spread rapidly and also changed its original nature, and by
I9I8 it came to the notice of the DistrictCommissioner.At the beginningof I9I9 it was
realized that therewas considerable unrestamong the Lugbara and a risingwas feared.
In early April of that year a partyof governmentpolice triedto close a Yakan meeting
near Udupi, in north-easternLugbara. They were attacked and eleven police and a sub-
county chiefwere killed. The attackersused spears, shouting'Yakani, Yakani'. There
were several later affraysbut all were beaten back by the police. Extra police and a
company of troopswere sent fromMasindi, and except fora serious fightat Paranga,
in Ole'ba, the centreofRembe's activities,therewere no furtheralarms. It became clear
thatmostofthe governmentchiefsofthe area wereimplicated; theyweretriedand many
deported to Ankole until I925. Chief Mba of Terego died there. Lesser offenderswere
finedcattle.
Lagoro was arestedby the Sudan administrationat Loka, and his shrinesdestroyed.
Rembe, his son, a man called Wong who may have been a Dinka, and several Lugbara
were arrestedat Bengalis. Rembe was executed at Yei. Over the next fewyears several
Lugbara followersof Rembe were arrestedin various parts of the southernSudan and
deported to Uganda. There would seem to have been no actual outbreaksduring this
period in the Sudan itself.There were, however, serious threatsof a risingin the Yei
districtof the Sudan, among the Kakwa of Loka and Rejaf, in I9I4; the persons con-
cerned,who were said by the InspectorofYei River districtto be 'preachersofthe Allah

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 9I

Water cult', were deported to Mongalla and therewas no furtherdisturbance.In I9I6

there was a risingof Azande under Chief Mopahi at Doruma, in French Equatorial
Africa,whichwas reportedto be connectedwiththe Allah water cult.13
There were several later manifestationsof the cult in an anti-European formamong
the Alur and Jonam, to the south of the Lugbara; thesewere in I924, at Panyango and
Panyiguru, but there was no actual fighting.The cult appeared at Vura, among the
southernLugbara, about I920, and perhaps elsewhere,but in a different form,and it
has continued to the presentday as a disease cult. I discuss thisbelow, but wish firstto
considerthei 9I2-I9 phasein moredetail.

v
Apart fromFadl el-Mula Murjan's account, which was later used almost verbatim by
Driberg, otherinformationabout the Yakan cult comes fromLugbara who discussedit
with me in I95I-2. Their memoriesof it were coloured both by the passing of time and
also by theirrelatingthe eventsin a mythologicalidiom. By this time Rembe has be-
come a personage of myth,whose activitieswere unlike those of ordinary men. For
example, an importantman, a sub-chiefof the old school, said to me aftertalkingabout
the cult in the days of his father,who had been an importantand wealthygovernment
chief:
'Rembe was a littleman. But he was likea Mukama[Nyorofor'king'].When he sat here
everyonewouldgatherto hearhiswords.His wordsweregreatand many.He called men
and all came to him.
'Is Rembe dead? Whereis his grave? We have neverheard how or wherehe died.
Perhapshe is stillalive. If he were lockedup he would alwaysescape. He had an iron
ankleton his rightleg and theytied him to a wall by this,but he escaped. He was our
Agent.He had soldiersand parades,and a tallpole called a'bi,on topofwhichsat a man.
We stilllookforhim.Wheredid he go ?'14
Rembe is regarded as at least a semi-mythicalfigure,with the attributesof miraculous
behaviour and other 'inverted'featuresof mythicalpersonages. Both Mr Weatherhead
and Rembe are said to have been 'little',which emphasizes theirwonderfuland almost
magical characters.I returnto the significanceof the mythicalnature of Rembe below.
It is not possible to give a detailed historicalaccount of the second phase of the cult,
as Lugbara do not discuss it in those terms.It can betterbe discussed in its principal
aspects: its overtaims; its organization; the activitiesassociated with it; its symbolism;
and itssignificanceas a responseto outsidecontact.
The firstre-appearance ofthe cult, about I9I3, seems to have had two main aims, to
protectpeople fromepidemics and to bring peace and order to the area. There were
several outbreaksof cerebro-spinalmeningitisabout I 9I 2, and also an unusually severe
outbreakofa cattledisease, probably rinderpest.The formeris the more important.It is
said by Lugbara to-day that Rembe came in the dry season, the time of meningitis,
which stilloccurs among Lugbara duringthisperiod ofthe year. Meningitiscomes to an
end with the rains in March or April, and certainlypart of the significanceof the water
cult was in its symbolicconnexion with rain. Meningitisand smallpox, which are not
distinguishedveryclearlyby Lugbara fromother epidemic diseases with similarsymp-
toms,are regardedby themas special kindsofsicknesssentto themby Spirit. Meningitis

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92 JOHN MIDDLETON

is known as ndindiaand smallpox as mmua;both words mean 'secret' or 'sicknesssent

secretly','because they come in the winds from Spirit'. Besides meningitis,at least,
stoppingwith the advent of the rains,theyare associated with the dryseason, which is a
time when the immanent aspect of Spirit is likelyto leave the streams and to wander
over the drygrassland,where he may be caught in grassfiresand be heard cryingin the
flames.I was told by an importantelder of Oluvu-Godria, where Rembe had stayedfor
a day or two,that
'Rembe stayedherewhenhe was travellingto Ole'ba. He broughtwaterto us to protect
people fromlionsand sickness.He put his a'bi treehere,and one at Miutini,and people
gatheredthereand sacrificed,
liketheCatholicsdo whentheygo to heartheFathers.'
This refersto an occasion said to have been in the same 'year' (i.e. dry season, eli) that
Mr Weatherhead firsttouredthe district,in I 9I 4.
The Inspector,Yei, wroteto the DistrictCommissioner,West Nile, in I 9I 9, that
'There is littledoubtthatLagoro startedto dispensewaterto curecerebro-spinal
menin-
gitisand later Spanish influenza.As he foundhimselfgettingratherwell-knownhe
startedin and coloured his teachingwiththatabout rifles,as did Rembe, who got his
teachingfromhim.'
I referto the remark about riflesbelow. Later, in I920, there was unrest among the
Lugbara ofVura, on the Congo boundary.This was in March, just beforethe rains,and
was directed mainly against a serious outbreak of meningitisor Spanish influenza. A
goat and a white calf,both ornamentedwith braceletsand ear ornaments,were used in
rites and were driven southwardsinto the mountainous countryround Mount Luku.
The braceletscame froma man who had died of the sickness.This outbreak is referred
to by Driberg in his article, and informantsin Vura have told me that these animals
were 'the beasts of Yakan'. Driberg also refersto a passage in Fadl el-Mula Murjan's
report which states that in Masindi, before the Uganda mutiny,goats and chickens,
both white and black, were ornamentedin the same way and formedpart of the ritual.
The drivingof a goat and calf into the mountainsrecalls the drivingof a sheep on to
Mount Liru at time of drought,as a means of beseechingGod to send rain (Middleton
g960a,chap. V).
The cult also spread because it 'brought' peace. This was important at its first
re-appearance, and this aspect was always present right up to I920. The Sudanese
interregnumwas a period of continual raiding and trouble-makingby ivorypoachers,
and the authorityof the formerBelgian-appointed chiefshad virtuallyceased. I was
told
'Rembe and Yondu broughtthe waterfromthe Sudan. We tookit because we wanted
peace. We drankedi (thingruel) togetherand foughtno moreas we had done before.
Peoplewalkedin peace,'
and
'Rembe came just beforeEjerekedi(Mr Weatherhead).We tookhis waterbecause we
wantedone chief(opi)to makeup intoone peacefultribe(suru,"clan"), withoutfighting.'
The drinkersof the water believed that certain thingswould happen to them after
drinking. These were that the water would preserve them from death; that their

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 93
ancestorswould come to life; that theirdead cattle would come to life; that theycould
floutgovernmentorderswith impunityand need not pay tax; that theywould be im-
mune against rifleswhich would fireonly water; and that they would obtain riflesto
drive the Europeans fromthe country.The rifleswere to be broughtin boats along the
Kaia and Nile rivers,and reportsin the DistrictOffice,Arua, state theywere believed
to be broughtby a spiritcalled Jeremani ('German'). Those who refusedto drink the
water were said to become termiteswhen they died or to be carried away by a strong
wind. These were the promisesmade on behalf of the water during the dry season of
December I 9 I 8 to March I 9 I 9, when therewas an unusuallyseriousoutbreak of either
meningitisor Spanish influenza.The fightingat Udupi took place at thistime,when a
police patrol had gone to close down an exceptionallylarge cult meetingthere,an area
whichwas also much affectedby sleepingsickness.
Much ofthe above account is takenfromDriberg's paper. I was given an account by
a man who had been presentat Udupi:

'There was a European called Dereba (Driberg). People went slowlyto Kakwa, to
Kuku country, to Yudu theclan ofRembe. He gave thema littlepot ofwater.Then they
returnedwithit. They broughtit to Udupi, othersto Oluvu, Maraca, everymanbrought
his own. Then theycalled togethermanypeople,men,girlsand children,all drankthe
water.Theywantedto refusethewordsofEuropeans.Theythought, and everyman came
witharrows,and braceletscalled emve, and even rupees,withwhichto buy thiswater.
And girls,ifbig, theylay thereat thedrinkingplace withthesoldiers,who collectedthe
moneyand thosethings.Everymorningtheymade a parade, like the police do at Arua.
Then peoplebroughtfoodand chickens, and beansand groundnuts, and simsimand millet
and sorghum;everypersontookthosethingswhengettingthewater.
'We called thisdede.Its meaningwas when the Europeans came, fightingceased,
everyonewalkedabout in peace, and Rembe broughtwaterto say "Stay quietand do not
killyourfriends".TheyrefusedbecauseoftheEuropeansand said "The Europeanscame
to destroyour land", and Rembe said, "Let us stayherein peace, withoutfighting,and
let the Europeansgo back to theirown country."Rembe said, "The waterI have given
toyouand whichyouhave drunkwillgiveyouall one heart.Now youare all ofone heart.
I do not want fighting again. I want you all to be withcooled hearts."Those were the
wordsofRembe. ButwhentheEuropeansheardthosematterstheyarrestedthesellersof
thewaterand sentthemto prison,and somedied there.That SultanMba was sentaway.
But thepeople of Udupi refusedand whenWarner[thethenAssistantDistrictCommis-
sioner]wenttherewithWakil [sub-chief]Olia theykilledOlia withspearsand hitone
Europeanwitharrowsand twopolicemen,perhapsfour.'

Anotherinformantwho had seen Rembe told me that Rembe told him that he was to
drinkthe water and would not die, but that he mustpay taxes and work and not harm
the Europeans.
At first,before I 9I7-I8, there were comparativelyfew adherents. I was told that
theywandered round the countrylike 'mad people' ('ba azazaa)15 and that oftenpeople
would drive them away to another area. They would meet, kill a beast and tell the
ritual addresses (adi) of theirancestors(Middleton i 960a, chap. III). About I9I8 there
arose an internal organization of the cult in various parts of the country,as Lugbara
who had obtained water fromRembe or Yondu spread it among otherLugbara. At this
time almost everysub-clan throughoutLugbara had its opiDedeni(chiefof the Dede, the
name that came to be used forthe cult by Lugbara). The adherentsin each sub-clan

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94 JOHN MIDDLETON

territory were usually divided into threeranks,of which the firsttwo were known as opi
('chiefs'). The highestgrade consistedof the original 'owners' of the water, those who
had acquired it fromRembe, Yondu, or one of theirimmediate assistants,who seem
always to have been Kakwa. They knew the words of all the special songs of Yakan and
so had directlyacquired particular ritual knowledge,16and theycarried small sticksof
inzuwood, known as 'littlesticks' (kalian). In some areas membersof thisgrade carried
spears called emve ('white'). As faras I know thesewere not the same as the white staves
or spears called ajulepithatwere carriedby 'ba rukuza('men whose names were known'),
although both were white. Members of the second grade were those who had acquired
the water frommembersof the firstgrade and who redistributedit to others.They did
not know all the songs and did not carry sticks.Ordinary adherentsof the cult com-
prised the thirdgrade, and Driberg mentionsthat membershipwas almost compulsory,
people being made tojoin by terrorization.
This type of rankingwas a new principle of organization in Lugbara. I have been
told that the more importantopiwere accepted outside their own territory,'like the
governmentchiefsto-day travel about and meet one another at theirheadquarters in
Arua.' They were all regardedas 'men whose names are known' ('ba rukuza)-it mustbe
rememberedthat the firstadherents,before I900, became opiand that many of the opi
of the 1914 period were the same men, but their numbers certainlyincreased at this
time.
The best account of the actual dispensingof the water,which was the main element
ofthe cult,is that ofDriberg. It was based largelyupon notes and recordswhich are still
in the DistrictCommissioner'soffice.It may be quoted:

'[Lagaro] in i9i8 was so inundatedwith applicantsthat he had a special camp built

consistingof,at its zenith,some 200 huts.He had a sawish or sergeant,armedwithan
imitationrifle,who was responsibleforkeepingorderin thecamp,whileLogworochiefly
concernedhimselfwiththe collectionof the fees,leavingthe actual distribution of the
waterto a lame underling.The sleepingaccommodationwhichLogworoprovidedwas
made necessaryby hisrefusalto dispensewaterto individualapplicants;theyhad to wait
untila sufficient
numberhad collected,and beforethedistribution ofthewatertheywere
publiclyharanguedby Logworoon the conditions,privilegesand dutiesimposedby the
society.In frontof his house stooda verylarge numberof pots of the magic water,but
none oftheapplicants.knewwho filledthemor whencethewaterwas drawn.The water
was said to have been givenby Yakan, who livedat thespring(itselfcalled Yakan). The
feespaid to Logworoat that timewere one rupee if the applicantwanted to drinkthe
wateron the spot,and two rupeesif he wishedto take it away. Sometimesgoats were
accepted,and an applicantmightbe told to "kill a goat in honorofRabbina" ' (Driberg
1931, pp. 46- 7).

Driberg was here describingLagoro's homestead near Loka, in Kakwa. It is significant

that the fees paid forthe water were the same as those paid later in Lugbara to those
who had originally purchased it from Lagoro. Driberg states that the Lugbara pre-
ferredLagoro to Rembe, since on one occasion Lugbara had died afterdrinkingRembe's
water,probably due to its having been mixed with pounded root of a lily called kamiojo
('lion bulb'), which I discuss later. Shortly afterthese deaths the Kakwa raided the
Lugbara. To-day, however,it is Rembe's name which is rememberedwith awe by the
Lugbara, and Lagoro is hardlymentioned.

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 95

Driberg describesthe dispensationofwaterin Lugbara:

'A templebelongsto an ownerofwater,each dispenserhavinghis own temple.It is not
necessarily situatedin hisvillage.Generally,in fact,it is not,but in somesecludedspotat
some distancefromthe village.To the templeis attacheda permanentguard of askaris
(police or soldiers),armed with spears and bows and arrows,under the controlof a
"corporal". Their duty is to keep order and to give warningof the approach of any
unauthorizedintruders, while withthe same object in view the paths approachingthe
templeare guardedbypoisonedarrowsstuckin thegroundin sucha way thatan unwary
walkerwould be bound to receivea wound. The templeitself,generallycalledjo rakan
(houseofYakan), but also sometimesknownas dede,is generallya largesquare building
withone door.A corneris partitioned offas Holy ofHoliesin whichYakan resides.
'In thetempleare storedthepropertiesofthe cult,togetherwiththefeespaid by its
members(exceptlivestock, whichare removedto thedispenser'svillage).Veryoccasion-
ally,however,a smallerhut,roundbut ofsuperiorstructure to thenormalLugbara hut,
is substituted forthesquarebuilding.Shrines,similarto thosein use fortheusual religious
rites,are sometimeserectednear the temple,but theyare not essential.In frontof the
templea "parade ground"is cleared,and in themiddleofit is planteda longpole. This is
calledfetirakan(treeofYakan) or loko(thesignificance ofwhichI was unabletodiscover).
More rarelyit is called dedeor rebenadede( = Rabbinadede);buton a previousoccasion,dur-
ing the Belgianoccupation,the pole and the templewere called Bulamatali,indicating
the object of the cult's activities.17
This pole is alwayscut froma treeknownlocallyas
kuzu,or uzu, and is surmountedby a branchof the shrubinzu,whichalso providesthe
personalinsigniaof the highestgrade of its members.These treesbelongspecifically to
Yakan ritesand to no other.A largehole is excavatedwhena pole is to be erected,and a
bowl ofsacredwateris buriedat thesite.A sheepis killedand eatenand stripsofitsskin
are wrappedroundthebase and topofthepole.
'A special calabash is kept fordistributing the water. On its back is stencilleda
monitorlizard,thecult'semblem,and in itslip a holeis boredin whichare insertedbrass
ringspaid as feesby members.All memberspay a small fee-a brassring,arrows,or
chickens-todrinkthewaterat theceremonials.It is distributed bythe"Corporal"in the
calabash bowl, each memberdrinkinga bowl fullor pouringthreebowlsover his head
and chest.A memberofthehighestgradewho wishesto purchasewaterfordistribution
in his capacityas dispenserhas to pay a largerfee-the largestknownbeingthreecows,
threegoatsand 2oo arrows,thesmallestone sheep.A dispenserofthe highestgradenot
infrequently takesthe name Ola, the Lugbara perversion of Allah,and thedouble name
Ola-Rembe and Ola-rakanis also known.
'The drinkingofwateris followedby a "parade" or dance, underthedirectionofthe
dispenser,but chickens(and sometimesa bull) are firstsacrificedat the pole beforethe
dance begins.This ceremonialdance is quite unlikethe usual dances (thoughtheseare
sometimesincluded), and consistsof one figure,a kindof shuffling movement,whichis
quite clearlybased on the military"markingtime." The dancershold imitationrifles
in theirhands,made eitherof reedsor the mid-ribof palm fronds,and sing the songs
whichthedispenserteachesthem.These are theYakan songswhichthedispenserhimself
learnedwhenhe boughtthewaterfromRembe or Logworo.While theysingand dance
theygo throughthe threemotionswiththeirrifles,similarto aiming,orderingand pre.-
sentingarms.The wholeritualis so obviouslybased on associationalmagicthatthepoint
requiresno further stressing.
'Certainvariationswereobservedin the Congo. There thewaterwas obtainedfrom
Rembe throughthe mediumof the Lugbara and takenhome.A pot ofit was placed in
thepath,and any passer-byhad to drink,afterwhichhe had to run away at fullspeed,
without looking back,onpainofdeath'(DribergI93 I, pp. 41 7-I9) .18
Driberg was describingthe rites as they were reportedto him at the height of the
anti-European phase, just beforethe fightingat Udupi. Large numbersofpeople would
G

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96 JOHN MIDDLETON

assemble at these huts, and a reportof the time fromthe District Commissionermen-
tions that over a hundred people might attend, a very large number for any rite or
ceremonyin Lugbara.
VI

The water was clearlythe centralfactorin the cult activities,and I wish now to consider
it in more detail. It came originallyfromRembe's pool at Ajebi, or at least its power
came fromthat source. The pool water was diluted with ordinarywater, and Driberg
states:
'At leastone instanceis knownin whichthewaterwas pouredoverthefloorofa temple,
thusimpregnating the templewithits essence;whenwaterwas requiredforceremonial
purposesit was fetchedfroma stream,and someearthfromthetemple'sfloorwas mixed
withit,rendering it efficaceous'
(Driberg1931, p. 4 I 6).
I have been told that the water used at Yakan rites'followed' the water fromthe Ajebi
pool, and also that the water in the pool was 'togetherwith' or 'the same as' (trotro)the
water in Rembe's home in Kakwa country.There is thus a clear line of succession to
divine power fromthe Kakwa pool and so ultimatelyfromthe Dinka pools, to the water
dispensedat ritesthroughoutLugbara.
It is thisfact,that the water used at riteswas not ordinarywater but had some trace
ofthe originaldivine power, that preventedordinarywater being used by would-be cult
leaders. It was not that Rembe or Yondu could put thispower into it; only Spirit could
do that, although only Rembe among men had the power to control the dangerous
forcesinherentin the Ajebi water. Lugbara have told me that the pool was onzi (evil), a
word used to referto thingscontainingdivine power, and thatit was tali,a word used to
referto places in which divine power is made manifestto men (Middleton ig6oa,
chap. V).
To-day Rembe is seen as a mythicalfigure.Yondu was a cult organizer,but Rembe
was a prophet: he is so consideredto-dayand it seems reasonable to assume that he was
so seen duringhis lifetime.It is difficult
to explain his successotherwise.
Rembe's status as a prophet may be seen in the symbolic connexion between the
powers of Spirit on the one hand and that of the Yakan water and Rembe's powers of
divinationon the other. By his power of divination he showed himselfto be the mouth-
piece of Spirit, and by his control of the water he controlled the physical means of
sharingin divine power by ordinarymen.
The cult was knownby the Lugbara as rakani, rakan and rakanye,and also as Dede.
Rembe himselfis said to have called it Rabbinadede, a mixtureofArabic (Rabbin= 'God')
and Lugbara, and so forhim also the concept of dedewas important.And his use of the
word dini,a word not knownin Lugbara but fromthe Arabic for'religion',is significant.
To-day, in Lugbara, possessionby Spirit is known by the individual concerned falling
into a fitof trembling.The mostfrequentoccasion is possessionof an adolescent girl by
the immanent aspect of Spirit, this being a sign that Spirit has willed the girl to be a
diviner,whose power comes fromhim. Not only was Rembe a possessorof oracles, he
was also a divinerwith a gourd, weke,and it is said that it was he who firstpractisedthis
formof divinationin Lugbara. When Rembe divined he trembled,and both then and
to-day sicknessthat includes tremblingas a symptomis thoughtto be connected with

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 97
Spiritand the cultof Yakan. To-day, as I describebelow,the Yakan cult existsas a
spiritcult,offerings beingmade to removeepileptic-like seizuresand othertrembling
symptoms. In Rembe'stimetheadherents ofthecultare said to have been possessedby
trembling afterhavingdrunkofthewater.A sentencein Fadl el-Mula's'Historyofthe
WestNileDistrict'reads:19
'Men woulddrinkYakanwaterand dancethedances.SomesangYakansongs.Others
climbedontohuts,granaries, or intothetopsofthetreeswithout fallingdown.They
wouldclimbthepolesetin theparadegroundanddanceon topofit.Theyweremenof
Spirit.'
The last sentenceis significant. 'They were men of Spirit'is writtenin the Lugbara
accountas ri 'baAdrogua, and in theSwahiliversionas Hawawatu waShetani ('theywere
men of Satan'); thatis, theywere men ofAdro or Adrogua,the immanentaspectof
Spirit.
The waterusuallycontainedthejuice ofa bulb called Kamiojo, 'lion-bulb'or 'lion-
medicine',Dribergstates:
'Thisis a verypowerful drug,withan exceedingly stimulatingeffect on theheart.For
a periodafteritsuseitinducesa condition ofviolencebordering on mania,buta corres-
pondingly profound periodofreactionfollows. Severaldeathswerereported resulting
from an overdose.Thisdrug,then,isaddedtothewater,thesacredqualitiesofwhichare
thoughtnot to diminish, howevermuchsubsequently dilutedwithprofanewater'
(Driberg1931, p 4 I 6).)
To-day the bulb (ojo) of plantssuch as wild gladiolusis used as an ingredient in the
medicinesusedbydivinersto cleansesorcery sickness,whichmaybe causedbyillicituse
ofthebulb. Divinersare knownas ojou('bulb-people'),and theyoftenuse thebulb to
inducetrance.Traditionally itwas also usedbywarriors beforegoingon raids.Thereis a
clearlinkbetweentheconceptsofdivinity, diviner,and thesebulbs.
Rembe'ssnakeoraclewas called dede,and I have been told that'all the wordsof
Yakanicamefromthatsnakecalleddede'.Justas thepoolofwaterinKakwa,fromwhich
theoriginalwaterofYakan had been taken,was itselfcalled Yakani, so could theim-
mediatesourceofthecultin Lugbara,or ratherthesourceperhapsofitsdivinecharac-
ter,be calleddede,thesnake.Dedeis theLugbara termfor'grandmother'.20 I have been
told 'the waterwas called dedebecauseit is a greatpersonlikea man'sgrandmother',
and 'dedeprotectsus fromevilthingsas does a man'sgrandmother'. rakange or rakanye
are in facttheKakwa and Bari termsfor'grandmother', and in bothKakwa and Lug-
bara thoughtthereis a connexion,althoughnot a veryexplicitone,betweena grand-
motherand certainsnakes.In northernLugbara (thearea wherethe cult began) a
smallgreensnakewhichinhabitsgranariesor hutthatchis called dedeand is said to be
thevehiclefora dead grandmother to visitthe living.It is non-venomous and harm-
less'as is a grandmother'. AmongtheKakwa also thegrandmother is believedto take
theformof a snake; and thebeliefis foundamongtheBari (SeligmanI932, pp. 246,
275). To tryto interpret theconnexionbetweenthesebeliefsand thoseto do withthe
rakancultis clearlydifficult. Whetheror nottherewas anyoriginalconnexionbetween
thewordsdedeandyakaniand snakesand grandmothers, whatis significant is thatmany
Lugbara to-dayhave toldme thattherewas thisconnexion, and theearlyphasesofthe
Yakan cultareremembered in theseterms.

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98 JOHN MIDDLETON

The snake is connected with water, as being the original 'owner' (eipi)of the sacred
water. The water was drunk partly as a cure for cerebro-spinalmeningitis,a regular
epidemic in Lugbara. There was a severe outbreak in the dry season of I9I8-I9 and
another the followingyear. To-day, still,the cult of Yakan in its presentformis con-
nected with meningitis,and also, I believe, with smallpox and influenza. As I have
mentionedabove, the I920 outbreakwas at the timeofthe Spanish influenza.Although
Lugbara do not know the original source of the Yakan water sold to them by Lagoro
and Rembe, theyall say that it came frompools: 'That water came fromstillwater,in
which lived dede.'Driberg mentions several non-Lugbara sources in which this or a
similar cult was associated with pools containing a power or deity. Besides the Dinka
pools already mentioned,he states that the water used in the I905 Maji-maji risingin
Tanganyika came froma medicine-manwho lived in the Rufiji riverin the formof a
water-monster,and that the word Nakanin Kakwa is the name of the 'sacred snake',
a phrase he does not explain (Driberg I93I, p. 4I6). There is a possible connexion
here withthe Shilluk Nyikang,who was connected throughhis motherwith the River
Nile.21
The emphasis on water and water-creaturesis significantas a sign of divine power.
The Lugbara concept of Spirit is of a forceof which the source is a being called Adro.
The creatorSpiritin the skyis known by the diminutiveformAdroa. Lugbara say that
the diminutiveis used because Adroa is remote frommen and in no way under their
control.Except forthe rare scapegoat ritesmentionedabove, offeringsare not made to
Adroa. Adro, on the otherhand, representsthe forceof Spiriton the earth. Adro dwells
in streamsand in the bushland and has the formofa tall man, white in colourand cut in
halfdown the middle; he hops about on his one leg. He is greatlyfeared,oftenreferred
to as 'evil' (onzi),and can send sudden, serious,and even mortalsicknessto personswho
wander into valley bottomsin the evening or at night. It is Adro who possessesadoles-
cent girls to make them into diviners,and sicknessfromhim is dealt with by diviners
(Middleton I96oa, chap. V). The skillofdivinationis known as tali,a termused forany
sign of divine power over or in men, which has thus been made manifestto men.
Rembe's pool was known as tali, as was his power of divination. Although I have not
heard it said thatAdro himselfever dwelt in that particularpool, it is clear thatit was a
place filled with divine power. Water is an element associated with spirit,in certain
situations. And the adding to of ojo bulbs is significant,as these bulbs are used by
diviners,who are knownas ojou(bulb-people).
A point ofsome interestis a notionwhich pervades much ofLugbara thoughtand on
which I wish to publish a fulleraccount elsewhere.This is the notion of divine power or
spirit,a power which originatesoutside the sphereofhuman and social orderand which
may be said to representdisorder or primordial chaos, being associated with figures
which are in some way incomplete. The distinctionbetween social order and extra-
social disorderis importantin the Lugbara world-view,and the two mustbe separated.
Agents of disorderare representedin termsof inversion,as I have described elsewhere
(Middleton I954; I96oa chap. V). When the two spheres become confused,as in the
sudden eruptionof disorderor radical change into the traditionalsmall-scale societyof
the Lugbara, the figuresthat representdisorderor which can controlit are given the
formofbeingswhich are themselvesoutside the accepted scheme ofclassificationas they

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA 99

representa dangerous and polluting force. Adro, the immanent formof Spirit, is the
obvious one, in the formof a man but of the wrong colour and cut in half. The figure
which provided a source of divine power with which Lugbara could deal with this
intrusionof disorderwas the half-man,half-snakeof Rembe's pool. And Rembe him-
self was half-man,or more accurately, a no-man. He divined in the way which was
copied by woman diviners(thereseems no good reason forhim not to have been copied
by men, but he was not, and Lugbara say to-day that thiswas because he was not really
a man, and so had partly the qualities of a woman). He is said not to have slept with
women and not, therefore,to have begottenchildren,the very mark of a man. I have
some indicationsin factthat he may have been regarded as homosexual, although since
Lugbara have littleknowledgeof,or at least do notattachimportanceto,homosexuality,
this is not at all certain. Certainly parts of his behaviour are thought to have been
womanlike: his trancesand epileptic-likefitsare said to be peculiarly the acts expected
of women rather than of men, and the phrase oftenused of him, that 'he wandered
madly' (eroaci aci azazaa) uses the word azazaa which is used particularlyof eccentric
behaviour by women. He is said to have worn his hair long and uncut, as do women
divinersto-day. Being unable to bear furtherchildren,such old women are in Lugbara
thoughtonlyhalf-women.
VII

There remain threeproblemswithregard to the cult in its second phase: its significance
as a responseto rapid social change; its efficacyin providinga new formof organization
forthe Lugbara to deal with thischange; and the reasons forits sudden disappearance
afterI9I9.
Although it is not possible to say with any accuracy what were the beliefswhich
made the drinkingofwater importantfortribesotherthan the Lugbara, somethingcan
be said about its significancefor the Lugbara. Lugbara hold that their societyis un-
changing.It was createdin theformit ideally has to-dayby the two hero-ancestors,Jaki
and Dribidu, who were descended froma line ofincestuousbrothersand sisterswho were
set upon the earth by Spirit (Middleton I954). The ancestorsare the fountof all that is
good and orderly,and the properpatternofauthoritywithinthelineage and community
is thatwhich theythemselvesset up long ago. Althoughthereare continual fluctuations
in thispatternof authorityas men die and othersgrowadult, thesechanges are accepted
into the total patternby the operation of the cult of the dead. The dead are concerned
with the exercise,allocation,and inheritanceofauthoritywithinthelineage and thelocal
community.So long as the dead and the living exercise theirproper authorityon the
properoccasions foritsexercise,theorderwill be maintainedand the communityprosper
(Middleton ig6oa, chap. IV). Spirit created the world and his earliestcreaturesformed
society:it should ideally continuein thatform.
But radical change does occur, as a consequence of the impact of external forces
which weaken and even destroythe orderlyrelationswithinthe community,relations
based on the exerciseand acceptance of authority.Lugbara conceive ofthisin termsofa
primordialdisorderimpingingupon or even enteringthe sphere of order. Since Spirit
created the world and society,thisis seen as the furtheraction of Spirit,a forcewhich is
all-powerfulover the pettyworld of men. Spirit is, however, remote and invisible, at

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IOO JOHN MIDDLETON

least in its formof creativeforce.Change, the intrusionof disorder,takes the formof the
intrusionof Spirit, and so of divine agents, and correspondinglymen deal with it only
by themselvescominginto contactwiththeseagents.
The disorderwhich threatenedLugbara societyat the end of the last centuryand
the beginningof thiscenturytook several forms.Human and cattle epidemics changed
the distributionof human and cattle populations, and so patternsof wealth and de-
pendence, and so the patternsof the exerciseof authority.Lugbara say that theseevents
destroyed (eza) the world as they had known it. At the same time Arab slavers and
European administratorsappeared, and thereis no doubt that Lugbara took these to be
the agents of disasterand disorder.They were regarded as 'evil' (onzi), as all-powerful,
and as emissaries of Spirit. Two words commonly used for Europeans, Mundu and
Ogara'ba, both referto their physical power throughthe use of guns; the third word
commonlyused forEuropeans is Adro,the termforSpirit.
The people who introducenew power into the traditionalsystembecome associated
with Spirit, since this is the only way in which the concept of new power can be ex-
pressed by Lugbara. Spirit stands outside society: it is outside the span of social order,
both in space and time. It stands in what we may call mythical time. In Lugbara,
mythical figuresare those who enter the order of Lugbara society from the disorder
outside. They include the hero-ancestorswho formedLugbara societyfromthe amor-
phous social lifethat existedafterspirithad created the world but beforetherewas such
a thingas 'Lugbara society'. Other mythicalfiguresinclude the firstDistrictCommis-
sioner,who introducedEuropean power, and Rembe the prophet.I have been told that
Rembe, who came from Kakwa, outside Lugbara, brought with him the power of
Spirit and the power of the Arabs. The Arabs were powerful,and as the Mahdists they
had defeatedthe Europeans employedby theformerEgyptiangovernment.
I do not know what were the firststeps taken by Lugbara to combat this disorder.
But since it affectedall men over the entiresocietyand not merelyindividuals or small
kin-groups,theycould not deal withit by referenceto the cult ofthe dead. Or iftheydid
so, it was clearlyineffectual.They thereforeturnedto a man who representedhimselfas
an emissaryof Spirit,and theyaccepted him as such. This was Rembe. At firsttheysent
messengersto him, and later he enteredLugbaraland, it mustbe assumed, at the invita-
tionofthosewho visitedhim.
The position of Rembe was an emissaryof Spirit. He had the power of divination
and cure of sicknessgiven to him by Spirit; this power was his tali. He was more than
this. It was he who introduced the new power of the Europeans into the traditional
Lugbara systemofauthority.I have been told by a man who knew Rembe well that
'Rembe broughtthesethingsof the Europeansto us. He knewthe wordsof spirit.The
Europeanscame as clients.We did not knowthemand we fearedthem.Rembe came to
showus thattheEuropeanswerepeople. He showedus how to fightagainstthemand not
to fearthemand theirstrength.
Then laterthepeoplewhobecamechiefsoftheEuropeans
were thosechiefsof Yakan water.They had learntthosewordsfromRembe and they
did notfeartheBelgians.'
At firstLugbara accepted Rembe because he promised them peace and order. He
promisedthem,first,a reversionto a formerage of goodness,when ancestorsand cattle
would returnand Europeans would go; secondlya lifein which no one would die and all

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA IOI

would live in happinessin the skywithSpirit,and therewould be no epidemics.An

adherentof thosedays told me thatat firstRembe controlledthe cult memberswho
wishedtofightagainsttheEuropeans;therewas no needformoredestruction and blood-
shed,as theEuropeanswouldleave as a consequenceofRembe'smysticalpowersand
theperformance ofcultdances.
About i9i6 it wouldseemthattheorganizationaspectgotout ofhand,as it were,
and themedicinaland mysticalaspectlessimportant. The adherentsbegan to forma
neworganization, thatofthethreegradesled by 'chiefs'.Thiswas thedoingofRembe's
assistantYondu, and at thistimeRembe'sinfluence seemsto have faded.Yondu wore
specialinsignia,a signofoffice and authority,a thingwhichRembeseemsneverto have
done: he had no needto,as hispowercame directfromSpiritand was notgivento him
byhisfollowers. In takingup Yondu'sorganization, theLugbaracopiedEuropeansand
Arabsin obviouswaysthatsymbolizedtheirpower:buildingsquarehuts,drillingwith
rifles,and puttingup flagpoles(the firstthingthatis done by a colonialpower),by
setting up a 'government' and so on. Byjoiningthisorganization
(Bulamatali), mencould
becomeopi,chiefs.They became 'men whosenamesare known'.They thussharedin
thenewpowerwhichwas outsidethetraditional lineageorganization, in whichlay the
onlypowerthatanyordinaryman could expector hope to acquire.To acquiremorea
man had eitherto becomewealthyand influential, whichis obviouslylimitedto a few
menin anysociety,or to becomea rainmaker, whosestatuswas hereditary and whose
mystical powercamefromSpirit.But by becominga 'chief'oftheYakan cultanyman
was able to short-circuit the two traditionalmeans of acquiringpower,and also to
becomepossessor ofthenewEuropean-type power.
This cultorganizationwas new,in severalways.The mostimportant was thatthe
traditional lineageorganizationwas superseded.AlthoughRembe and Yondu did not
organizeany corporategroupswiderthanthesub-clan,theydid at leastcreatea new
organization withinthatgroup,in whichclan tieswereregardedas irrelevant-theem-
phasisplaced on indiscriminate sexualintercourse is relevanthere. Secondly,women
joined,apparently on equal termswithmen,exceptthattheycouldnotriseto theposi-
tionofchiefs.And the chiefswerenot necessarily thosewithhighgenealogicalstatus.
Even thoughtherewasno corporateactivityacrosssub-clans,thegradeswerenonethe
lessrecognizedacrossthe entirecountry.Lugbara to-dayrememberthatRembe kept
hispromiseto themand theycouldindeedwalkin peace acrossthecountryside, whereas
formerly a manwouldhavebeenspearedhad he attempted todo so.
Therewas clearlyan economicaspectto thesystem ofranking.A manwhoacquired
waterfromRembe coulddiluteit byvariousmeansand sellit to others;in thisway he
could makea profitand also acquiredependantsin thecultorganization. Butthispro-
cesswas limitedby the existingsocial structure. The chiefsofYakan seemall to have
beenmenwhowerealreadywealthy,and in mostcases'menwhosenameswereknown'
('ba rukuza).They merelyturnedtheirexistingwealthintoa new formofprestigeand
power,a powerwhichwas a veryreal one duringtheexistenceofthecultin itsoriginal
form.No othermencouldhave travelledacrossLugbaralandin thewaythatthesemen
did. And withthe watertheyacquiredknowledgeof esotericsongs,whichweresung
onlyby theirown adherents,and whichmay have markedthemoffas leaderswith
almostpersonalfollowings.22

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I02 JOHN MIDDLETON

The positionof rainmakersis important.In the firstphase, before I 900, rainmakers

seem to have had littleto do with the cult, and theyare said to have 'run away into the
bush when the Belgians came, to hide theirrainstones'.By the second phase the position
was different,and some rainmakersbecame chiefsin the cult. It seems that as the cult
organization spread more widely the rainmakers,who were so by virtueof theirsenior
genealogical positionin the sub-clan, were caught up in it by the very fact of being so
senior. There is also the significantfact, of course, that although traditionallyrain-
makerswere used to drive away epidemics,famine,and drought,theyhad clearlybeen
unable to deal with the severe disastersthat brought the Yakan cult into being. There
was thus competitionbetween them and cult leaders at first,but since both acquired
their mysticalpower fromSpirit, theywere none the less closely akin. However, rain-
makerskeptlargelyaloof,and in I9I9 none, as faras I know,were implicated. Certainly
none were punished by the Administration.Here we returnto the role of the Yakan
chiefs.They had been made administrativechiefsby the Belgians, and later by Weather-
head under the Uganda administration.They had at times become very unpopular,
greatlyfeared, and extremelywealthy; they were regarded as traitorsand known as
Munduor Ogara'ba('Europeans'). They recovered their position and regained their
popularityby leading the cult, particularlyas it became more and more anti-European
and involved in a struggleforpower in the region. Rainmakers have always stood out-
side thisstruggle,and stilldo.
Rembe came fromSpiritand organized a new formofpolitical organization: it died
out afterI919. If the Lugbara had been aware of the existenceof a stronglycentralized
kingdom,such as one of the Interlacustrinestates far to their south, they might have
tried to establish a king, like the Amba of westernUganda who tried to emulate the
King of Toro, their oppressor (Winter I958, p. I58). Rembe, however, had another
example. This was the Mahdi, the self-claimedMessiah who set up a theocracy at
Khartoum in I885. The concept of a prophet was one that could be accepted by the
peoples ofthisregion,which had been subject to Arab influenceforso long. Rembe was a
charismaticleader who never had the chance to riseto the heightofhis power. This was
both because he was captured and killed, and also perhaps because the scale of his
leadership was too small. He was a focal figureforthisvery small-scale societyin their
need to adapt a new formof organization to meet the disasterswhich overcame them.
But he had too far to go to create a viable organization that could compete with the
European power on equal terms.In thisrespect,he resemblesthe prophetsof the Nuer
and Dinka, far to the north; but they also were captured and killed by the European
Government (Evans-Pritchard I 940, pp. I85-9; LienhardtI 96 I).
Also importantwas the changed position of youngermen and women, who formed
the bulk of the adherents.Their independence fromtheirlineage and familyseniorswas
implicitlyrecognized in the cult organization. By I920 the firsteffectsoflabour migra-
tion were beginningto be feltin thisarea, with the opening up ofsouthernUganda and
the increasingcalls forunskilledlabour fromWest Nile District,especiallyfromLugbara.
By I925 labour migrationwas certainlyan integral part of Lugbara economy. Land
shortagein central and northernLugbara, where the cult had had most of its support,
was an incentiveto temporarylabour migration,as well as an ever-growingdemand for
moneywhich could be satisfiedonly by wage labour outside theirhomeland (Middleton

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA I03

T952; I962). Youngermenbeganto emigrate, eventhoughtemporarily, and thismeant

thatfromnow on theyacceptedtheneworderbroughtin by theEuropeansinsteadof
tryingto fightit and to returnto theold days.Once havingtastedindependencefrom
theirelders,underYondu's leadership,theywereunlikelyto wishto returnto depen-
dence upon theirfamilyheads. Also,theywereno longerwillingto give moneyand
chickensto cultorganizers, butpreferred tokeeptheirwealththemselves. The problems
facingyoungermencould henceforwardbe solvedbetterby labourmigration thanby
cultadherence.In addition,theeffect ofChristianmissionteachingwas beginning tobe
feltat thistime,and thismayalso have had someeffect, as someoftheyoungerpeople
weregoingto missionschoolsfora fewyearsbeforegoingonlabourmigration tosouthern
Uganda to earnmoneyforbridewealth fortheirwives.
A lastpointis therelationshipbetweenthiscultand thetraditional religiouscultsof
theLugbara. The adherentswantedto bringtheancestorsback to life,but thiswould
have destroyedthe whole basis of the cult of the dead. The mass of adherentswere
trying to do twothingsin thisrespect:to throwofftheauthority oftheirlineageseniors,
and toreform theworldon a basisotherthanthetraditionally acceptedone.
It would seem thatthe exerciseof lineage authority was growingeverstricter as
seniormentriedto maintaintheirauthority in a situationofincreasingland pressure,
due to the influxof refugees, the minglingof diversesmallgroups,the beginnings of
labourmigration and theneed formoneyforindividualtaxationand consumergoods.
The seniormenhad also to maintaintheirauthority as againstthatofthecultleaders.
There was thusa viciouscircleset up and youngermen became adherentsand even
womenwereencouragedtojoin. Men who werethenyoungadherentshave told me
thatifthe ancestorshad returnedthenthe structure of lineageauthority would have
beenweakened;moreexactly,therigidlineageauthority ofthatparticulartimewould
havebecomemoreflexible.
The Yakan cultwas not an attemptto revertto the traditionalway oflifeof the
i880s, but to returnto whatwe mightcall an originalparadise.People weretrying to
getback to a pre-socialphasewhenancestorswouldliveagain and divineSpiritwould
rule men throughthe prophets.The new horizontalorganizationwas perhapsanalo-
goustoideasofpropheticcults,in othersocieties, ofa 'primitive communism', conceived
in termsofa primordialdisorderor anarchy,withoutsocial rankingor theexerciseof
authority by somemenoverothers.Like othercultsofthistype,theYakan cultwas in
itsverynatureforedoomed tofailure.

VIII

to considersomeaspectsofthecultas it existsto-day:thisalso throwssome

I wishfinally
lighton tothereasonsforitsrapiddisappearancein itsearlierformafterI9I9.
The Yakan cultstillexists,althoughin a somewhatdifferentform.The nameDedeis
no longerused,onlythatofYakan. Dedewas concernedwiththerestoration ofpeace,
and feudand warfarehave been stoppedby thegovernments in bothUganda and the
Congoforsomeyears.Dedewas alsothesnakeoracle,thepowerofwhichwasbehindthat
partof the cult concernedwithsocial reorganizationas a responseto a commontribal
enemy;it was thisaspectwhichbecameanti-Europeanafteritsreappearancein I9I2.

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104 JOHN MIDDLETON

The cult of Yakan to-dayis concernedwith the curingof certainsicknessesof which

the main symptomis tremblingor trance. The sicknessesare several, but are all those
knownas mmua,ndindiaor e'di'dia. The words come fromrootswhich mean 'secret'; that
is to say, the origin of the sicknessesis unknown,in the sense of coming froma power
outside the knowledgeand controlof men, fromSpirit. These termsreferalso to menin-
gitis and plague, the formerof which appears in Lugbara almost every year and the
latter of which was once a regular epidemic. Both may also be called yakan, which
'comes in the wind'.
From the use of the word Yakan to-daywe may understandmore of its significance
in the past. Yakan is not only the name of the cult but also the name of a power or force
which possessespeople. It possessed Rembe and all who drank his water. Those who
drank were made to trembleby Yakan. To-day it is said that Yakanieri'ba 'ya'ya (Yakan
he makes people tremble),and rakaniecara,le 'ba o'bunito (Yakan has arrived,wishesto
o'bupeople verymuch); o'buis difficultto translate:it means 'cajole', 'entice', persuade
someone to do somethingagainst his betterjudgement. Yakan has a soul (orindi)which
entersthe soul of hisvictim.It is said that
His soul
he makesit tremble'ya-'ya-'ya.
'Yakan strikes(di) a man's heart (asi) ru-ru-ru,
entershis heart,because of the greed of that Yakan. He comes to findfood,and says
"long ago yougave me food,nowyougiveme none".'
The spiritYakan is closely connected with a force or spirit called kalia, which is
concerned also with sending tremblingto people but more especially with the fertility
of crops. In some areas both Yakan and kalia are found together,in othersonly one is
found and then both categoriesof human and crop disease are attributedto that one.
Kalia means 'little stick'. In the old cult, a man bought water fromRembe or Lagoro
and so became a 'chief' ofthe cult. Rembe gave such a man a stickofinzuwood as a sign
of status. This was the kalia. The owner of a stickwas in a close relationshipwith the
power of Yakan by having drunkwater. The possessorof a stickcould hand on similar
sticksto thosepeople to whom he sold water who acted as dispensers,but stickswere not
given to ordinaryadherents.The sticksare stillin existencein many cases, and kept in
secrecyinside the huts of theirpossessors.I have seen a couple: theyare about a footin
length,cut and burned with simple patterns,and with the representationof a snake at
the top end. I was not able to examine them closely,nor to touch them. Some of the
original sticksare said to have been much longer, and some were of iron. These sticks
have now come to be regarded not only as a sign of statusbut as a vehicle forthe power
originallycalled Yakan. They are also the vehicles forthe power called kalia, which is
said to be 'the same as' (trotro)
Yakan. I have been told that
'Kalia is nota man,but came fromnothing,likethewind.It came to our ancestorsoflong
ago, to entertheirbodiesto hurtthem.We fearitverymuch.'
Kalia is said to be 'in' the stick. If a stickis lost or disintegrates,the possessormay
make a new one; and he could hand on sticksto otherpeople to whom he sold water; to-
day theyare inheritedby a man's eldestson. An elder who has a kalia sticktold me that
'Long ago kalia came to seize people. It came fromthatman Warua in Kijoru; Warua
tookit to Anya of Unika, who sentit to Ezara's father.Ezara [theformergovernment-
appointedchiefofVura] sentit to AdripioofAnzu, who sentit to Okwaka ofAjia. But

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA I05

Ajia refusedit because theyare Madi, not Lugbara likeus here,and it came back to us.
Ezara builta houseforit and placed it inside,thereoutsidehiscompoundwhereyousaw
it. Then laterEzara gave me a stickand I have it heretogetherwithmyrogbo(external
lineageshrine),therein thebushlandwhereunimportant peopledo notcome.'
Yakan would seem to have been more importantin northernand easternLugbara;
to-day kalia, at any rate, is more importantin the south. Possessionof a kalia stickgave
its owner certainpower over crops. Formerlythe firstfruitsof eleusine and simsim (the
traditionalstaples) were broughtto the stickby all the familieswithinthe minorsection.
To-day in most areas kalia sticksare owned only by the senior elders of minorlineages,
and the firstfruitswere broughtto theirshrinesoutside the compounds. Sometimesseed
was also brought there beforethe firstsowing. These offeringswere only a few grains
fromeach person, and were leftat the shrines.The elder who held the shrinewas re-
sponsiblefordeciding the day forthe rites,and so exercisedcontrolof the planting and
harvestingseasons. To-day these ritesare not performedanywhere, as far as I know:
theyseem to have died out in the late I 930S.23
Possessionof the stickalso bringssickness'in the wind'. That is, the elder is respon-
sible formakingan oblation at the shrinein the case of meningitisor sicknesswith simi-
lar symptomsof tremblingthat affectedany member of his minorsection. He does not
controlthe power in any way, but acts as representativeof his lineage towardsthe spirit
kalia. This riteis stillperformed,particularlyin southernLugbara where the power of
rainmakersis weak; in the north and east rainmakersstill make offeringson a tribal
basis in case ofepidemic.
The power of Yakan and kalia is said to come fromthe immanent aspect of Spirit,
Adro.Spirit sends sicknessthroughYakan and kalia. I have heard it said that Yakan is
the askari(Swahili: 'soldier' or 'policeman') of Spiritin thiscontext.Adrois 'evil' (onzi)
and so sends an askari,'like the governmentsends its police to do its evil actions'. This
power is also known as tali, the term used for any place where divine power is mad;
manifestto men.
There are also lesser spirit shrines,the identityof which varies fromone part of
Lugbara to another. They are all said to 'follow' Yakan, to get at least part of their
power from Yakan, and so ultimatelyfrom Spirit. In all cases they are placed by
individuals who have been told to place themby diviners,aftertheyor membersoftheir
familieshave been sent certain sicknessesby Spirit which may be cured by small offer-
ings made at the shrines. These shrines are many. The best known include ajualiri,
which is the name of a sicknesswhich 'comes in the wind' and affectsthe chest; ogbei,
which sends diarrhoea or dysentery;oyakiyaor ajukuja,set up afterearthquakes; and
balokole,a formof the Luganda Abalokole,the name of a breakaway Christiansect whose
membersmake public confessionsand at least when in Lugbara go into tranceand speak
withtongues,theirpower being sentby the ChristianGod Munguwhom pagan Lugbara
see as an aspect ofSpirit (Middleton i96oa, chap. V; Welbourn I96I).
The sicknessesassociated with yakan and kalia shrinesto-day are sent to individuals
who in some way come into contact withthe power of Spirit; theyare removedbyoffer-
ings of grain made at theseparticularshrinesafterconsultationwith,and oftenwith the
assistanceof, a diviner. Inflictionof these sicknessesis not a moral matter; unlike sick-
ness sentby the dead, thosesentby Yakan or kaliahave no moral contentand thelineage

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io6 JOHN MIDDLETON

and itsinterests are notconcerned.Mostpersonsafflicted are menof

by thesesicknesses
middlestatus:thatis, theyare menofrelatively low genealogicalstatusbut ofmiddle
age withadult or near adult children,or in a fewcases theyare womenwho are the
wives of such men. Other womenwho are affectedare thosetroubledwith near-
blindnessand thelumpsundertheskinthatare the commonsymptoms of onchocer-
ciasis(otu),whichis commonis manypartsofLugbara.Thisdiseaseis said to be sentby
Spiritin theformofYakan,and is thoughtespeciallyto affect pregnantwomen.24
Thereis a likelyconnexionbetweentheoccurrence ofthesespirit-sent and
sicknesses
theearlierphasesofthecult,in thatin bothphasesmenwho do notenjoyhighgenea-
logicalstatus,and women,can comeintodirectcontactwithSpirit.The former phase
was, however,also closelyconnectedwith the appearance of meningitisand other
epidemics;to-daythisaspecthas declinedin importanceand it is almostentirelyan
individualcult.By it a relativelyjunior man can showhimselfto have importancein
beingsingledout forthisformof manifestation ofdivinepower.In the earlierphase,
mencould do thisthroughthemediumofthepropheticleaders;aftertheirdisappear-
ance menhave been able to do so directly.To-day thecultofthe dead and thespirit
cultshavebeenmutuallyaccommodated, and are no longerin competitionas theywere
at thetimeoftheprophets. The formercultis concernedwiththeinterests ofthelineage
and is controlled bytheseniormenofthelineage;thelatteris associatedwiththeambi-
tionsand theidentity ofindividuallineagemembers, and therightofmembers topursue
theirowninterests to a reasonableextenthas been recognizedbytheirelders,nowthat
thegeneration ofmenwhowereeldersbeforeI920 has diedout.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The fieldresearchon whichthispaperis basedwas carriedout betweenDecember1949

and April I952 withassistancefromthe Worshipful Companyof Goldsmithsand the
Colonial Office,London. It was initiallywrittenup withthe aid of a grantfromthe
Wenner-Gren FoundationforAnthropological Research,New York. I am gratefulto
MessrsJ. D. Gotch,E. C. Lanning,and E. A. L. Watts,oftheUganda Administration,
forpermission to read certainfileson theYakan cultin theDistrictOffice,Arua. Drs
J. H. M. Beattie,T. 0. Beidelman,and R. L. Wishlade,and theHon. GaspareOda have
made helpfulcomments. I am also grateful R. 0. Collinsformakingknown
to Professor
to me relevantreportsfromthe earlyfilesof the Sudan Government, and forseveral
suggestions.

NOTES

1Fadl el-Mula Murjan laterbecame SultanofTerego county,WestNile District,and shouldnotbe

confusedwithSultanFadl el-Mula Murjan ofAringacounty,whosebiographyis givenbyE. C. Lanning
(1954).
2 In an earlieraccount (I958) to sub-tribesas 'tribes'; I now thinkthe formerto be the
I referred
preferable term.
3 The AppendixA ofSudanIntelligence Report
(1907) states:'The (Belgian)Commandant... toldus a
lot about theLugwares.He saysthattheyconstantly raid one another'svillageforcattleand wives,and

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 THE YAKAN OR ALLAH WATER CULT AMONG THE LUGBARA I07

thatwomenare constantly boughtand sold amongthemforslaves'; and 'anotherofficer arrivedtoday

bringingin a numberof prisoners,amongstwhom was one who dealt in womenslaves,sellingthree
womenfora rifleto theArabs. He also broughtin about 20 ofthesewomenand theirchildren'.Sudan
IntelligenceReport (I9I2) statesthattheadministrator at Kajo Kaji (Stigand)foundsixteenLugbara child
slavesamongtheKuku, and returnedthemto theirhomes.
4 The Pajelu are thePojulu; theNambara, theNyangwara;theKakraka,the Makaraka or Eastern

Azande (Baxter& ButtI953).

s Castleton-Smith I9I4. The shrinewas in a well-builtsquare hut,witha clearedspace in frontofit
forarmedparades.
6 Grewia mollis, a woodusedforthesticksofgranaryroofsand containinga gummyfibre.
7Belinian was one ofthetwogreatrainmaking centresfortheBari (SeligmanI 932, pp. 242, 28 I).
8 There were,besidesthe Mahdi, otherself-claimed sons of God sentto preparethe worldforthe
Millenniumin theSudan duringtheseyears;theywereoftenreferred to as 'falseprophets'.
9 Whenin Madi in I 953 I was givenaccountsofseveralMadi chiefs wholed attacksagainstSudanese
and Arab slavers,centredon Dufile,whichwereclearlybeforeI 900.
10Tukutuku was a Lingala wordfora muzzle-loading gun,and fortheramrodusedforloading; itsuse
was extendedto troopsissuedwiththeseguns; I am gratefulto theRev. A. S. Maclure forthisinforma-
tion.
11See Stigand I923 foran excellentdescription ofthesituationat thattime.Stigandwas the Sudan
administrator at Kajo Kaji whomade severaltoursintoLugbara country. See also CollinsI 960.
12 The appearanceofmanysnakesin a treeat Ofudein I 95 I causedimmense excitement and attempts
weremade to use thephenomenonas an oracle. Many old men visitedthetreefrommanypartsofthe
countryand someofthemsaid to me thatperhapsthisheraldedthereturnofRembe.
13 Information fromthefilesin theDistrictOffice,Arua,Uganda, and fromreportsfromtheInspec-
tor,Yei RiverDistrict,Sudan.
14 The reference to 'Agent'is to the Lugbara Agentsetup by the earlyBritishadministration to be
thesingleintermediary betweentheLugbara and thegovernment. He was withdrawn in I926.
15 The wordazazaa refers to behaviourin whichmoralcontrolis lacking,and especiallyto behaviour
ofwomen.
16 Like all Lugbara songs,thesewere ephemeraland allusive.Most of the Yakan songshave been
forgotten, and thosethatI was able to collectare frequently inexplicableto-day,as people can no longer
rememberthetopicalallusions.A songsungat Yumbe had thewords
ImiandeBikiakiayo You mustbe rudetoBikia and hiskin
ImiandeAseariko Butdo notbe rudetoAsea
Ndaleariarikadri Ndalea diedofdysentery
Imindrela ra You toowillfindthisout
Kuluatrarongoloro, The Kakwa clansgatheredthemselves together,
inidedeko youdo notknowtheirgrandmother
Dedebuareadenayi Theirgrandmother camedownfromthesky
in a terrible
manner
The firstparttellsofAsea, whomNdalea was rudeto and so died ofdysentery; thesecondpartis a taunt
againstthe Kakwa clans of the north-west of Yumbe, whoseancestressis said to have fallenfromthe
skyand so is not a worthyancestress.I am gratefulto theRev. A. S. Maclure forthistranslation from
theAringadialectofLugbara.
17 Bulamatali,or a variantofit,is theLingala wordoriginally appliedto H. M. Stanley,'thebreaker
ofstones'.It has cometomean'Government'.
18 The significance ofrunningaway withoutlookingback is thata man is leavingthe siteofdivine
power.If a man passesa rain-grove at nighthe musthurryhomewardsand notlookback; he is followed
smallspiritsin theformofmenand womenbut onlya footor so tall,the
by adroanzi('spirit-children'),
guardiansofthegrove.If he looksback he will be killedby them,but will come to no harmifhe goes
straight homeward.
'9 This is a manuscriptdocument,in threevolumes,writtenin Lugbara, Swahili,and someEnglish,
by thelate Fadl el-Mula,a shopkeeperin Aringa.The authorverykindlyallowedme to takenotesfrom
hisbook.Afterhisdeath,in I 95 I, triedunsuccessfully to discoveritswhereabouts.
20
Driberg(I 93 ) translates
it,incorrectly,as 'maternaluncle'.The wordis neverso used.
21
Thiswas suggestedtome byDr R. G. Lienhardt.
22 This
may happen to-day:thecomposerofnew popularsongs,whichmay be sungat dances fora
fewmonths,has considerableprestigeamonghisco-evals.

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Io8 JOHN MIDDLETON

23 The form oftheseshrinesdiffers considerablyfromone area to another,as do detailsoftheofferings

made at them.In southernand centralLugbara theshrineforeitherpoweris usuallyin the formof a
small stickcoveredwith an umbrella-shapedroofof thatchinggrass. In northernand north-western
Lugbara theyakanshrineis a stoneofgraniteplaced underan inzutree,theleavesofwhichare pounded
into a paste and sprinkledoverfieldsat sowingand harvest;herethekaliashrineis usuallyan old pot,
witha holeboredin one side,and placed upsidedown.
24 Onchocerciasis by thebite oftheflysimulium
is inflicted damnosum, whichlivesin only shady bush
close to fast-runningwater.It is associatedin Lugbara thoughtwithSpiritin the formof Adro,which
dwellsin suchplaces.

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