Our athletes never fail to do us proud whenever they showcase their prowess during track and field events. In celebration of their achievements in international competitions, they are received at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with song and dance, colourful and glittery decorations adorned on their necks, and most importantly, a cold glass of mursik served from a gourd. To understand how mursik became an integral part of this welcome ritual, we must look back at its history and significance.
Milk is a staple food for the Kalenjin community who were traditionally herders. Because of the green highland regions in the Rift Valley where this community settled, the feed was plenty and there was often a surplus of milk. In times of abundance, when the milk could not be consumed in a day, the Kalenjin had to find creative ways of storing this highly perishable product for the future.
Traditional Milk Preservation
Food preservation methods have come a long way thanks to technology that can keep milk fresh for days or even weeks. But before the advent of refrigerators, freezers, and pasteurizers, the only method of milk preservation was boiling. And even this method could only extend shelf life for a day. This was the basis of making mursik, fermented milk. Rather than discard milk for having gone bad, the Kalenjin community chose to embrace it.
Making mursik is not as simple as it may seem. It is a process that takes days to achieve the final result. The fresh milk starts off being boiled to make it safe for consumption. Once cool, it is set aside for two to four days to ferment. The longer it ferments, the more it sours. During the fermentation process, the water separates from the curd and settles on top of the container. Excess of this water is drained out once it has soured to the desired stage.
The next step is flavouring the milk. The dried stems of a senetwet shrub (African senna) are charred over an open flame and then left to cool. The heat causes the stems to release a fragrant scent that is akin to vanilla. Once it undergoes this process, the stem is now aromatic and is called itet. A piece is broken off and crushed to create a fine black powder, which is then poured into a gourd, or sotet as it is called in Kalenjin. The fermented milk is poured into the sotet and shaken to incorporate the itet into the fermented milk. After this, the mursik is ready to drink.
Even with the invention of new preservation methods, mursik remains the drink of choice for many Kalenjin people. Many of Kenya’s athletes hail from this community, and the act of receiving them with a sotet of mursik is an ode to their cultural ties and a celebration of their heritage.
Are you a mursik lover? How sour do you like it to be, or do you prefer to sweeten it with some sugar or honey?
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