The special type of sour milk popularly known as 'mursik' among the Kalenjin community is said to have a special form of good luck especially when it is drunk by athletes before and after they travel out of the country to perform.
According to the Kalenjin culture, it is believed that mursik has the power to direct an athlete to win a race.
In many homecoming ceremonies of athletes who have won medals abroad, the first thing they are given is a zip of the popular drink.
“We welcome them with Mursik so as to maintain their strength, we believe that it gives them strong attitude and passion to win future races and get more fame. It is not a joke because we have seen it working and we believe so. I can strongly state here that Mursik has been key to the excellent performance of our athletes,” said Naomy Sang, an upcoming athlete based in Moiben.
“It is prepared mostly from cow’s milk, it is fermented in gourds treated with smoke and charcoal and certain species of trees, so before the milk is poured in the gourd, it must be boiled first at ambient temperature: the gourd is then capped and placed in a cool dry place to undergo spontaneous fermentation for at least three to five days, through the action of lactic acid bacteria, yeast and mould species," explained Albert Rono, an athletics coach in Eldoret.
Most famous athletes from the Kalenjin land are always welcomed by their friends and relatives after winning international races with a mursik zip in what many believe is because of the drinks alleged magical power to enable them win races.
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