Breeds of Zululand and the Nguni
The hills of northern KwaZulu-Natal, home of the Nguni cow, whose patterned hides have hundreds of names in isiZulu.
Breeds of this place
Best time: April to September, the cool dry season.
Zululand, the north of KwaZulu-Natal, is rolling grassland and thornveld, once the heart of the Zulu kingdom. Its cattle, the Nguni, are a sanga breed that came south with Bantu-speaking peoples many centuries ago. They are small to medium, hardy and fertile, and are famous for the endless variety of their hide colours and patterns.
The Nguni breed
Nguni cattle come in almost every colour and pattern: speckled, dappled, brindled, white with black spots, red with white. They resist ticks and tick-borne diseases, cope with heat and poor grazing, and calve easily. For decades they were seen as inferior to European breeds, but they were recognised as a breed in the twentieth century and are now valued widely.
Cattle and Zulu culture
In Zulu tradition, cattle are wealth and the link between the living and the ancestors. The cattle enclosure, isibaya, stands at the centre of the homestead. The Zulu language has many names for Nguni hide patterns, often drawn from nature, such as the patterns of birds' eggs. Hides were used for war shields, and cattle are given as ilobolo, the bride wealth.
A trail idea for Zululand and the Nguni
- Ulundi The town near the site of the Zulu royal capital, oNdini.
- oNdini The reconstructed royal homestead of King Cetshwayo.
- eMakhosini valley The valley of the kings, with graves of early Zulu rulers.
Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Ulundi" on Wikipedia. Fair dates, markets and visiting rules change; check locally before travelling, and keep a respectful distance from working animals. If something is wrong, tell us.
Nothing matches those filters yet. Take one off, or check back: new breeds are written every day.