While Kenyan festivals seem to be a product of the recent past, the Sapana Festival has taken place for as long as the Pokot have existed. We can’t tell you for sure how long that’s been, but it has been a really long time! For this community, like several others, initiation is a meaningful time of life. The Sapana festival centers on the initiation of their boys into manhood.
The day starts early before the sun rises. Inside the corral, or ‘kraal’, bulls which are to be slaughtered that day are gathered together. Entering the kraal with his weapon, the first boy on the line is the one to spear the first bull. It is seen as a dishonour to the animal’s life to slaughter it with just one blow. Thus, when it falls, the boy must spear it again. Every boy slaughters his own bull, provided for by his family. Afterwards, the adults butcher the animals and separate the pieces. Members of the community can draw near and enjoy the delicacy that is — a few clots of blood.
Each initiate, called a ‘kasapanak’, carries the stomach of his bull into a clearing where they are sliced open. The group of kasapanak, who are usually around the age of 20, stand on top of the stomachs, each with a chain of beads encircling their throats. The Pokot elder smears the young men with the cud as form of blessing. As soon as he does this, he cuts the chain from their necks. The beads are a token of gratitude for his guidance.
The boys then take the stomachs back home. They are met with singing and ululation from their kinswomen, who receive the stomachs. The joy of their mothers, sisters, and aunts cannot be contained; the women anoint the boys with oil. So drenched are the boys with fat, that the cud initially smeared on them sticks to their skin. After this, they find a place in the grasslands with dry grass which they use to clean their sticky skin.
Thereafter, each kasapanak is met by a mature man – a godfather. The godfather gives his assigned initiate a seat at the meeting of elders, symbolizing the change in his status from boy to man. It is evening by this time, and each of the new men is sent home to retrieve sour milk. The milk itself is specially prepared for months in preparation for the festival.
Throughout the evening, the elders perform many blessings over the men. The people around them partake of the feast of the slaughtered bulls as the sun which rose after them sets. When the meat is all consumed, the elder says a final blessing over the newly-minted men. From here, everyone returns to their home. The day of Sapana, or Initiation is over.
A fuse of culture with the life-changing moment of transition speaks to the reason of The Sapana Festival. At the end of the day, the community has new men on whom they can depend. The men enjoy authority within the community; their initiation allows them to begin accumulating a dowry for marriage. With its symbolic nature, the festival preserves Pokot heritage.
