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orpeko

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Maasai orpeko, from Swahili upepo (spirit, wind).

Noun

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orpeko (uncountable)

  1. (East Africa) A form of spirit possession or spiritual sickness among Maasai people, especially women.
    • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 965:
      It turned out that the only sure-fire permanent cure for orpeko was Christian baptism.
    • 2001, Dorothy L. Hodgson, Once Intrepid Warriors, page 260:
      Orpeko is vividly perceived by Maasai men and women as an outside force that has entered and disrupted their lives.
    • 2008, New Encyclopedia of Africa, volume IV:
      Others, such as orpeko among the Maasai people of Tanzania, are relatively recent phenomena that originated with foreign contacts.