Editing Holy Spirit Movement (section)

==Beliefs==

Alice Lakwena felt she was connected to the spiritual world, and could become [[Spirit possession|possessed by spirits]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

Alice was a spiritual medium and healer in her town of Gulu, which was a common role for women to hold.<ref name=":3" /> However, Alice claimed to be a ''nebi'', which is the Swahili word for '[[prophet]]' instead of ''ajwaka'', the Swahili word for a normal medium.<ref name=":0" /> Alice followed Catholicism, but it is widely unknown if she converted because her spirits instructed her to, or if she converted before becoming 'possessed'.<ref name=":0" />

Alice claimed to become possessed by spirits in either January or May 1985.<ref name=":0" /> According to reports, she grew numb and disappeared into the bush, where she claims she spent 40 days and 40 nights living off of the wilderness.<ref name=":0" /> She also claimed to be possessed by several ghosts, including a North Korean, [[Miriam]], and Medina.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /> Her 'chief spirit' was the one that communicated God's word directly to her.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> The 'chief spirit' was an Italian man who had died by drowning in the Nile at the age of 95; he was called 'Lakwena' which means 'the messenger' in the Acholi language.<ref name=":0" />

Her main reason for violent war efforts was to 'purify the aggrieved Northern Acholi people'.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2007-01-18|title=Uganda's mystic rebel leader dies|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6274313.stm|access-date=2020-12-03}}</ref> Lakwena was repeatedly cited as telling Alice to cleanse tribes of their sins, and to eradicate "bad people", both within her ranks and outside of them.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":0" /> The men that fought for her were fully convinced they were fighting for God and proper judgement, not against an enemy.<ref name=":0" /> As such, she convinced her followers to take up arms against the [[National Resistance Army|National Resistance Army (NRA)]] under [[Yoweri Museveni]] and restore Acholi purity and supremacy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=Tim|title=Lord's Resistance Army: Myth and Reality|publisher=Zed Books|year=2010|isbn=978-1-84813-903-9|location=London, England}}</ref> This goal slowly began to become more universal as time progressed, with Alice modifying her goals for Acholi purity to aim more for total African and global purity.<ref name=":1" />

Rules for Alice's Holy Spirit Battalion (called [[Holy Spirit Safety Precautions]]) were biblical in format and unusual in content.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Hutchinson|first=Sharon|date=2000|title=Review of Alice Lakwena and the Holy Spirits: War in Northern Uganda 1986-1997|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/220674|journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies|volume=33|issue=2|pages=399–400|doi=10.2307/220674|jstor=220674|issn=0361-7882|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Things such as sexual intercourse, alcohol consumption, tobacco usage, and certain foods were prohibited.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> It was also prohibited for followers to be angry, to eat food cooked in a saucepan, to have more or less than two testicles, to eat with people not anointed with oils, and to kill snakes.<ref name=":0" /> Oftentimes, soldiers would receive odd instructions, like reciting [[mantra]]-like phrases on the front lines before proceeding into battle, and sprinkling themselves with water before drinking after a battle.<ref name=":0" /> After being recruited as a follower, Alice would cleanse a person of their past sins, by placing her hands on their head. This signified her role as a spiritual [[Elder (Christianity)|elder]] of sorts.<ref name=":0" />

In terms of weaponry, Alice Lakwena convinced her soldier followers that she gave them special weaponry that was enhanced by spiritual powers.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" /> For example, she told soldiers that rocks she gave them would turn into [[grenade]]s when thrown,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Alice Lakwena's Holy Spirit Movement|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hsm.htm|access-date=2020-12-03|website=globalsecurity.org}}</ref> and if they drank water that had been blessed, then they would be immune to gunfire, as any [[bullet]]s that they came into contact with would immediately turn into water.<ref name=":0" /> Alice also created charms and potions with snake-bone and beeswax that followers were told would turn into swarms of animals and insects when thrown at enemy troops.<ref>{{Cite news|date=24 October 1987|title=Alice in Uganda's Bloody Wonderland|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref>

The media (western and local) played a role in reporting about Alice's Holy Spirit Movement.<ref name=":0" /> This caused her to create a branch of the movement called the [[Department of Information and Publicity]].<ref name=":4" /> This bureaucratic organization worked to create a softer image of the brutal practices of the HSM.<ref name=":4" /> Alice and Lakwena also gave an interview in October 1987 to try to clear the air about their motives and goals in fighting.<ref name=":0" />