Orpul (Olpul)

orpul, originally uploaded by Benjamin Long.

The orpul (also spelled olpul) is a Maasai traditional ceremony where morans (warriors) basically just eat meat. I have been to three orpuls and they have all been very different. My first orpul took place during the wedding, another on the mountain and my third was at the circumcision ceremony. The orpul is carried out by morans with a few layonis (boys not yet circumcised) present to do most of the work. An orpul can be with 2 men or 30 depending on how long the orpul will be and how many cows (Traditionally the Maasai always use cows to orpul but as the Maasai culture is changing, so are the ceremonies. Goats are sometimes substituted for cows in an orpul today.) are slaughtered. The reason for an orpul traditionally is to prepare the morans for raiding other tribes for their cattle or therapeutic reasons. The Maasai soup that is drank at an orpul is a a mixture of water, honey, and different combinations of 45 various herbs and roots grown in the area. I tried some at the big orpul on the mountain and it tasted aweful. The Maasai believe eating meat and drinking the Maasai soup with cure any illness. I have been told by my fellow teachers that the orpul can cure gonorrhea, syphilis, malaria and many other illnesses. These are men that have been to school and are considered educated telling me this. I was dumbfounded and tried to logically explain this could not be true but they just laughed at me. I asked them about aids and they conceded that it does not cure aids. They did believe it cured aids originally, but they admitted people continued to die so it was not a cure.
The big orpul that I visited was with 6 morans and 2 layonis, The morans each took one cow so there was one cow for each of them to eat. When I visited, the morans had already been in Orpul for a month and were eating their last cow. They tried to get money out of me to eat meat and to go into the orpul. I was so fed up with everyone asking me for money that I repeatedly said no. I then told them that I had cattle in America. They were amazed but I was even more amazed at theri next question. One moran replied, “Do you know 50 cent (the rapper).” I said, “Yes, I have met him.” I then started singing a 50 cent song and he was so happy and excited that he let me go in for free.(50 cent is HUGE in Africa. So big that some children are just called 50) I was trying not to laugh but it was very hard.
To break the orpul I visited down to a basic explanation: 6 men take 6 cows and 2 boys to a random point on the mountain, kill the cows, find the herbs and roots to put in water, and just eat meat. When I ask, “What do you do here for month?” They just look at me confused and say “We eat meat!” The men will stay there and not leave until they have finished eating all of the meat from all 6 cows. It is believed to make them strong in order to carry out their duties as a moran. Today, the morans no longer raid other tribes or take care of the cattle. As with most Maasai traditions, the orpul is mostly ceremonial.