03 July 2008

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Well, I managed to make it over a month without getting sick at all. I guess I can't complain. Since last night, I haven't been able to keep any food in me, it all comes out the other side. I'm taking some meds for it, so hopefully I'll be fine today or tomorrow.

Tomorrow should be very interesting. I've been told I get to witness a Mato Oput ceremony...although I'm not looking forward to witnessing animals getting slaughtered. I should get some great pictures though.

Mato Oput is a traditional justice mechanism when murder has occured. The two families or clans aren't allowed to interact at all until a blood feud has been paid and the ceremony is performed. The blood feud is a reparation payment. The ceremony involves the family of the victim and the family of the culprit getting a goat and a sheep (one gets the goat, one gets the sheep). Then, roots from an oput plant are ground up in a big bowl and blood from the slaughtered animals is added, then the 2 elders kneel down with their hands behind their back and dip their heads into the big bowl and take 3 or 4 sips depending on if the victim is male or female. They then eat roasted meat from the slaughtered animals and advise the 2 clans to live in peace. They can then interact again.

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