Water, Energy and River Spirits of the White Nile

Can spirits delay a water dam project? In Uganda they did. The topic is central to this conversation with an experienced researcher on spirits and cultural traditions in a number of African countries. Dr. Terje Østigård conducts research on the Bujagali Dam in Uganda, and is finalizing his next book these days, which is about the source of the River Nile. Dr. Østigård is from Kristiansand in Norway, and holds a PhD in archeology from the University of Bergen. He has worked as Senior Researcher and Associate professor at the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) in Uppsala, Sweden, since 2010. Since 2013 he is Cluster Leader (Rural/Agrarian) at the Institute.

In the interview Dr. Østigård explains how river spirits are affected by the dam building, to the extent of delaying the dam project by several years. He explains the need for more energy, also hydro power, in Africa. The interview was made at the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) on 10 September 2014. Dr. Østigård was among the panelists at an event that took up issues related to Africa's food security, land ownership and sustainable energy challenges. Further information about the event: http://www.norad.no/no/aktuelt/arrangementskalender/invitasjon-til-seminar-t%C3%B8rst-sulten-og-ingen-energi

News article (2011) on the move of the Bujagali dam's spirits http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/17/759459

Read about Dr. Østigård's research on NAI's website: http://www.nai.uu.se/research/researchers/terje-oestigaard/ and his own site: http://folk.uib.no/gsuto/