Cattle Farmer

There are still places where money doesn’t mean a lot. In these places your wealth gets measured in your possessions. In Africa, cattle is one of the most valuable commodities. Your status is measured by how many cattle you have. Cattle also play a very important part in the traditions of the society. The obvious is that they give you milk and meat when you need it. But it goes way beyond that. At a funeral, or any other cultural ceremonies, they slaughter sacrificial cattle. In South Africa you will see a lot of images of politicians slaughtering a cow. Then cattle are also used to pay Labola (dowry). Every young man that wants to get married, he must pay his future father-in-law for the right to marry his daughter. A cow can cost you up to $1000.

I felt sorry for the farmer in the image with just 4 cows. When I asked him about it, he was quick to point out that these are just the cows that he brought home for milking. Then he insisted on showing me the rest of the herd. Fortunately it wasn’t a long walk. He had a herd of over a hundred cattle. This is a very rich man by African standards.