Nguni cattle

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Nguni Cow Herd (Makatini ecotype)

The Nguni cattle breed is indigenous to southern Africa. A hybrid of indigenous and Indian cattle they were introduced by the black african tribes of southern Africa from the north of the continent. They are medium sized, adapted to grazing on the Highveld.

[edit] Characteristics

Nguni cattle are known by their fertility and resistance to diseases^[1], being the favourite breed amongst milk and meat producers of South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Angola. They are characterised by the multicoloured skin, which can present many different patterns, but their noses are always black-tipped. They are a principal form of Sanga cattle, which originated as hybrids of Zebu and humpless cattle in East Africa. Protein analyses have shown that they are a combination of Zebu (Bos indicus) and Bos taurus, the European and indigenous African species^[2]. They are characterized by low cervico-thoracic humps, in front of the front legs, instead of the high thoracic humps of pure Zebu. Besides the various colour patterns, these animals present a variety of horn shapes. All different combinations were catalogued in the beginning of the century by a South African herdmaster. This work inspired the Nguni Cattle Register, a compilation of terms to describe in full a Nguni cow or bull. The cattle are medium sized, with bulls weighing between 500kg and 600kg^[3], while cows weigh between 300kg and 400kg.

[edit] Origins

The ancestors of Nguni cattle were brought by the Xhosa, Zulu and Swazi people, during their migration to South Africa between 600 and 700 AD. Since then, these animals have played an important social and economic role in the development of these societies and are used as a bride's dowry. The number of animals held by a village or individual determined much of their importance to the rest of the world. King Shaka of the Zulus understood this cultural and economic importance and seized control of the Nguni herds on his dominions. Shaka also bred the Ngunis according to colour patterns in order to produce skins for the several regiments of his army, henceforward recognized by them. His elite personal guard was recognised by pure white, from animals of the royal herd, the inyonikayiphumuli.