Pink milk - mixing milk with blood in Kenya

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Pink milk - mixing milk with blood in Kenya

by Paweena
(Thailand)

I'm writing a paper about Kenya, and I suspect about "pink milk". Do you know?

My friend told me that in Kenya, milk is mixed with human blood.

So can you please give more details about this?

Thank you very much.

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Pink milk - mixing milk with blood in Kenya

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Feb 25, 2010

COW BLOOD!
by: Anonymous

It's COW blood they mix COW milk with. Hence their great value they place on cows. No community in Kenya is cannibalistic.

I am Kenyan, born and bred here.

Jan 28, 2010

Sources
by: Arjen (webmaster)

There are many reliable websites who say that the Maasai and others do mix cow blood and cow milk...

http://www.enterkenya.com/culture.html
http://www.congocookbook.com/other_recipes/cow_blood.html
http://www.africaguide.com/country/kenya/culture.htm
http://www.shoortravel.com/maratribe.html
etc. etc.

....and Irene and Archie who've commented here both know Kenya very well (they have both lived there for many years). I have no knowledge about other countries in this respect.

Jan 27, 2010

I've heard of that
by: Adam Gill

I have been told by several sources that the mixing of human blood and milk does go on but not in kenya. I is done mainly in israel.

Jan 07, 2010

Thank you
by: Paweena

You all are right. I asked my friend again that she is wrong. However thank you very much for your answer.

Jan 07, 2010

Pink Whatever
by: Archie Melrose

I was thinking about this........oh yes....coffee and time on my hands. [Snowbound at home]

Its for sure that its cow's blood that is used and the method is quite simple. Puncture the cows neck and the blood flow goes into the gourd with the milk. If it was arterial then the cow would die in a few minutes which would not be good for the owner.
A bit like you and me to be honest.....ooops!

So I think we must be agreed that the cow blood is venous [from the vein] and I am sure that Masai and Samburu men who have done this for generations know exactly where to go to get the good drips.

So why is this done? Well research shows that its normally for celebrations of whatever type and also for tourists. Not quite sure about the latter. [see below]

So what does it taste like? Warm fresh milk that is pink? Have you ever sucked your finger when you cut it with a knife? Has your nose ever been bleeding and it ran down the back of your throat?
Have you ever seen a few drops of blood in water and it spreads like oil over a large area?

I think to myself that 'pink milk' is quite simply a stunt for the tourists with cochineal and the real thing is kept for the close knit families in Kenya.

WOW....any comments on this

Archie

Jan 06, 2010

Cow blood, no human blood...
by: Arjen (webmaster)

I believe Irene is right: I only heard of some tribes who drink cow blood mixed with milk, indeed the Maasai. But I never heard of human blood.

I searched and found one newspaper article on the internet of one person in Kenya who allegedly drank human blood. I don't know if this story is true (in Africa, you'll hear more such stories with no basis in fact), but maybe you're mixing up this story with the story about the Maasai's "pink milk".

Now you know how urban legends are born.... ;-)

Jan 06, 2010

Pink milk
by: Irene. O

I actually have never heard of people mixing milk with human blood. That sounds scary anway. There are tribes in Kenya like Masai and Samburu who do mix milk with cow blood which is a treat at special occasions. But human blood no never heard of that.

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Pink milk - mixing milk with blood in Kenya

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Pink milk - mixing milk with blood in Kenya