Faith and tradition
How cattle are bound up with faith and custom: Gau Mata and Nandi, Jain refuges, the yak of the monasteries, Eid, the red heifer, the ox of the Nativity, the bulls of the ancient world, and the herding peoples.
HinduThe cow as Gau Mata, Nandi the bull of Shiva, Krishna the cowherd, and the gaushala that shelters old cattle.1JainAhimsa and the panjrapole, the Jain animal refuges that care for cattle to the end of their lives.0BuddhistYak and cattle in the monasteries of Tibet and Bhutan, and the release of animals as an act of merit.1SikhDairy and the langar kitchen, and the cattle of the farming villages of Punjab.0MuslimCattle at Eid al-Adha and the cattle markets that come before it.0JewishThe red heifer, the rest of the ox on the Sabbath, and the laws on the care of working animals.0ChristianThe ox of the Nativity, the blessing of animals, and saints' days on the farming calendar.0Ancient worldsApis and Hathor in Egypt, Minoan bull-leaping, the aurochs of the cave walls and the bulls of old gods.3Herders and nomadsThe cattle cultures of the Maasai, Fulani, Dinka, Mundari and the herding peoples of the steppe.3Other traditionsFolk custom, luck and protection, and beliefs that fit no single faith.1