[1][2] The group was an anti-colonial alternative medicine congregation, centered around distributing "water of Yakan", infused with a psychedelic daffodil plant locally known as Kamiojo.
[3][5] The group members would perform their rites around a planted pole, called dini (a term used more broadly to refer to religion in Lugbara).
[4] The group has also been described as primarily wishing for independence, with Jack Driberg saying the medical aspect was secondary to the desire for revolution among the members.
The British viewed the Yakan as being a source of the resistance to forced labor, sending troops with machine guns in to disrupt the "rebellion".
[9] The Amin family instead claimed that "the Yakanye Order" was an African secret society that used magic to start and win wars.