Color me cattle

Cattle are a fundamental cultural theme in many human societies. Cattle among pastoralists of East Africa are used for social and ritual purposes, and they are treated as a source of wealth and prestige. In these societies livestock are not produced only as commodities, as for example in the cattle industry in Europe. Human relationships are organized around cattle and mediated by livestock transfer. Pastoralists recognize genealogical relationships among livestock, give personal names and establish intimate relationships with their cattle, which plays a central role in shaping their social identity.

Women use butter for their hair; children’s toys are made of hooves; houses are made of cow dung. In the Hamar society the ritual of leaping over a row of cows signals the passage from childhood to adulthood, and men are named after the physical characteristics of a specific cow. This special bond is expressed in language as it can be seen in specialized vocabularies or in specific genres such as proverbs and songs. Pastoralists compose poems and sing about their favorite cow; cattle imagery is used to talk about clothing, or people's behaviour. Pastoralists of East Africa are able to identify each individual among hundreds of heads of cattle. The identification of cattle is a cognitive process reflected in the linguistic systems used to describe, categorize and call the animals. These systems are rich in expressions referring to the physical characteristics of cattle, such as coat colors and patterns (i.e. spotted), horn shape, ear cut and branding (i.e. tattoos).

The stories in this zone will explore the unique relationship among people and livestock in East African pastoralist societies, showing how people and cattle are intertwined in a bond visible in the material culture, and not only. There is an invisible bond that ties together herders and their animals. This is language.

Based on my research in Southwest Ethiopia, this zone celebrates my long-standing friendship with the Hamar community and other pastoralist groups. More importantly, it expresses my gratitude to these communities for sharing their worldviews and enriching my understanding of the world.