Herders and nomads traditions and cattle

For many herding peoples, cattle are not just livelihood but the centre of life, language and belief. The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania say that God gave all cattle to them. The Dinka, Nuer and Mundari of South Sudan name themselves after their oxen and sing to them. The Fulani move their herds across West Africa, and the Himba of Namibia keep a sacred fire for their ancestors and their cattle. In India, the Rebari, Gaoli and other herding communities hold cattle close in the same way.

The Maasai

Maasai tradition holds that Enkai, God, gave all the cattle in the world to the Maasai. A family's wealth is counted in cattle and children, and cattle are given at birth, initiation and marriage. The traditional diet was built on milk, and in times of need on blood drawn from a living animal and mixed with milk. A Maasai homestead, the enkang, is a ring of houses around a central cattle pen, all fenced with thorn branches.

Dinka, Nuer and Mundari

In South Sudan, young Dinka and Nuer men take a name from their favourite ox, called the song ox or display ox, and compose songs in its praise. The ox's horns may be trained into shapes while it is young. The Mundari, whose long-horned cattle look much like the Ankole, live with their herds in cattle camps, sleep beside them, and burn dung to make a fine ash that they rub on their skin and on their cattle, a custom they say keeps biting insects away.

The Fulani and the Himba

The Fulani, one of the largest pastoral peoples in the world, live across West and Central Africa, and many still move their herds with the seasons. Pulaaku, the Fulani code of conduct, values patience, self-control and care for the herd. The Wodaabe, a Fulani group, hold the Gerewol gathering. In northern Namibia, the Himba keep an ancestral fire, the okuruwo, between the main house and the cattle enclosure, and cattle are central to their ceremonies.

Herders of Asia

In Gujarat and Rajasthan, the Rebari and other herding communities have kept Kankrej and Gir cattle for generations and move them seasonally. The Gaoli of Maharashtra and the Golla of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are traditional cattle-keepers. On the steppe of Mongolia and Kazakhstan, cattle are herded together with horses, sheep, goats, camels and yak, and moved between summer and winter camps.

Worth knowing

Maasai: Herders of Kenya and Tanzania
Dinka: Cattle people of South Sudan
Nuer: Cattle people of South Sudan and Ethiopia
Mundari: Cattle-camp herders of South Sudan
Fulani: Pastoral people of West and Central Africa
Himba: Cattle herders of northern Namibia
Rebari: Herding community of Gujarat and Rajasthan

Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.

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Herders and nomads: cattle and tradition