The life of a nuer cow - Essay Example

s The Life of a Nuer Cow The Nuer, mainly live in Southern Sudan in the east Upper Nile Province around the junction of the Nile River with the Bahr el Ghazal and Sobat Rivers, and extending up the Sobat across the Ethiopian border. The Center of the Nuer area is around Lake No. Archaeologists indicate that the introduction of cattle in this area is related to the development of the distinct peoples the Nuer people are descended from. Oral traditions indicate that the Nuer have moved east of the Nile River only during the last 200 years. They began an especially active migration about the mid 1800s. As they moved gradually east, they pushed the Anuak farther east into Ethiopia. During this period many Dinka people were incorporated into the Nuer community. Atuot and Nuer traditions indicate origins with the Dinka in what is now known as Western Nuerland. These traditions say the separation of the three occurred due to a dispute over cattle ownership. Like many of his pastoral neighbors, a Nuer man's dearest possession is his cattle. Life depends on cattle and a Nuer will risk his life to defend them or to raid his neighbor's cattle. The Nuer worldview is built around the herds and prestige is measured by the quantity and quality of the cattle a man owns. Men and women take the names of their favourite oxen or cows and prefer to be greeted by their cattle names. While they do engage in agricultural pursuits, the care of cattle is the only labour they enjoy. It is said that conversation on virtually any subject will inevitably involve a discussion of cattle. The Nuer, a tall and very dark people, and are related to the Dinka, who live to their west, and their culture is very similar. The Nuer, call themselves Naath, meaning "human beings." The Nuer, Dinka and Atwot (Atuot) are sometimes considered one ethnic group. Their culture is organized around cattle. But since the Nuer people live in the Upper Nile valley, Nile perch is also an essential part of their economy. Grains and vegetables supplement this diet. None of the food commodities are produced for market purposes. Cattle are not primarily for food, but Nuer drink their milk. Meat is eaten at important celebrations when an animal is sacrificed. The Nuer living pattern changes according to the seasons of the year. As the rivers flood, the people have to move farther back from the river onto higher ground, where the women cultivate millet and maize while the men herd the cattle nearby. In the dry season, the younger men take the cattle herds closer to the receding rivers. Cooperative extended family groups live around communal cattle camps. Cattle play an important part in Nuer religion and ritual. Cows are dedicated to the ghosts of the owner's lineages and any personal spirits that may have possessed them at any time. The Nuer believe they establish contact with these ancestor ghosts and spirits by rubbing ashes along the backs of oxen or cows dedicated to them, through the sacrifice of cattle. No important Nuer ceremony of any kind is complete without such a sacrifice. NUER COW - 1930's It was the Dry season of 1931 and I had recently been purchased by a young, tall man from a small tribe in Southern Sudan. He purchased me as a wedding gift for his new wife, who was later revealed to be the one who was my primary milker. When I was taken back to their tribal area, I was in complete surprise at how many other cattle there were surrounding me. I had never seen anything like it, as I had been bought up in a relatively poor community. The fact that there were many other cattle neighbouring me gave me the impression that the tribe I had now been apart of, must have been fairly rich. I couldn't help but wonder why I was chosen out of all the other cattle, to be taken back to this place. I thought that it might've been because I was relatively plump and fat, and this worried me. My owner would occasionally rub ash across my back and speak of ceremonial chants, in a very loud and daunting matter. It was later revealed to me that this was part of a religious ceremony, and I felt special to be included in it. After I had settled in with the tribe, things seemed to be back to normal again. My owner now had two wives, both of which took care of me and milked me on a daily basis. It was the wet season of 1934, and my tribe had been moving through the desert and up north. I could hear constant arguments and fights between my owner and some of the other elders of the tribe. They were talking about the Dinka, and although I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, I knew that something bad was going to happen. Sometime later, perhaps about 3 weeks or so, I over heard my owner and his first wife talking about me. They were speaking about debts and that they will need to pay these debts with cattle. I thought surely they couldn't give me away after all, I was a gift. I had only ever heard bad things about the Dinka. That they were vicious and cruel to anyone who wasn't the same as they were. I was starting to get very worried. It was late one night and everything was calm and still and nothing could be heard. I was beginning to drift off to sleep, and then suddenly it happened. A large group of noisy people, who I assumed were Dinka's came running through my paddock, taking all of the cattle around me, I ran around and at one time I thought I could escape. But it was no use, I had been captured. Together with the rest of the cattle, I too was taken away. Just 2 days later, I was killed. NUER COW - 1980's I was born in 1981, in the bustling city areas of Khartoum. Once I was all grown up, I knew it was time, I knew I would be sold and taken away from my mother. A young labourer bought me for much more than I was worth, and I was then taken back to the Eastern reaches of Nuerland. My first impression of my new home was that of surprise. The people of the village treated me like a king and there weren't many other cattle surrounding me. This gave me the impression that my new tribe was rather poor. The fact that some of the huts and byres in the tribal area were damaged made me think that this tribe had seen the harder times of war and conflict. I had heard about the recent wars in this area from people talking, however, now I was right in the middle of it. Early one morning, I had seen two young male villagers fighting. I had a closer look and I realised that it was my owner. His father had interrupted them before someone got injured, but I think he was in trouble. After his father had an angrily discussion with him, they both walked over to my area. I was taken out, and my owner gave me away to another of the villagers. I was now in a different area within a different tribe it almost seemed. My new owners were a relatively large family. When I first arrived, I heard them talking about how happy they were, treating me like a trophy almost. It sounded to me like the boy won me in a contest, a contest which I wasn't even apart of. My new owners didn't take care of me much after that brief period of excitement. They neglected to feed me sometimes, and even forgot to milk me. I began to get very hungry and thin, at least now I knew they wouldn't eat me. Months later there was a war in the region, my owner's tribe moved to a different area. I however, was left behind. Luckily though, I died from hunger before the war came to me. I was quite jealous from that of the cow in the 1930's, considering the fact that he had free reign without the political and social hardship that I had. The death of the 1930's cow defined political relations with the neighbours by providing an insight into how those relations were in that stage in history. Whereas my death of course came upon me by warfare and poverty which was something I had grown used to. In conclusion, the life of the cow that lived in the 1930's is very different to the one from the 1980's in three different ways. The 30's cow was under a lot less political pressure, from both it's own as well as the lives of his tribe's and their family's. The life of the second cow ever was full of extreme political pressure. However, the cow from the 30's also had to endure much more moving around, throughout the dry and wet seasons in each for the right place to be. The second cow usually stayed within its own tribal area. This of course indicates a massive change in the Nuer lifestyle. REFERENCES Dear Customer, Please insert the reference information from the book "Nuer Dilemmas" here. Thankyou Read More