orpeko

orpeko

English

Etymology

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

Noun

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 2010, p. 965:

     It turned out that the only sure-fire permanent cure for orpeko was Christian baptism.

   • 2001, Dorothy L. Hodgson, Once Intrepid Warriors, p. 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, vol. IV:

     Others, such as orpeko among the Maasai people of Tanzania, are relatively recent phenomena that originated with foreign contacts.