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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Dispelling Myths of America (Part 3) Talkin bout a real "cash cow"

In Namibia, regardless of culture, (Herero, Damara, Nama etc) the Cow is honoured and respected. So much so, that it is money. In rural areas, a man is not valued by how much money he has, or to some extent the items he owns (cars are an exception, especially an Isuzu or Toyota Double Cab 4x4 Bakkie [truck]) but how much livestock he has. Other livestock are not worth as much as cattle. If I were to Continue with the money analogy, I guess goats would be like small bills while chickens are like change or something.

You can read Elizabeth's blog more about Cattle in Herero culture. http://evinpc.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/the-business-of-cattle/

It's very similar in Damara culture. There are cultural traditions where they must pay to marry someone, if they get divorced, or even harm someone. They must even give payment for crimes committed against someone, where the payment (besides punishment according to Namibian Law) is a set number of cattle, goats or the market price of said livestock in Namibian Dollars. There is a price list for all of the various crimes, even a list with respect to physical violence with each body part having a set price. Crimes against another man's cattle are some of the biggest offenses.

I've had interesting conversations with many people here in Kamanjab, and outlying communal farms such as Erwee, about Americans and cattle. The conversations go something like this:

“You are from America? You must be very rich. I only got # cows, but you must have a lot! How many cows do you have?”

“What?!?!?! You don't have cows? But you're American. They're very rich. You must have many more goats! How many Goats do you have?”

“No cows or goats? Are you poor? Are you not a Man? How will you marry?”

People who are younger and/or live in the bigger villages and towns, especially those who frequent Windhoek, understand that outside of Namibia, livestock are not seen as money and not everyone will have a farm with cattle, like in Namibia.

One of the more confusing aspects I have seen, was to meet people whose families are starving and yet they have at least a cow or two. Even though they are hungry, and they could easily eat the cow, they would as soon as go hungry. When I asked why they just won't eat the cow, I was asked “if you were hungry, would you eat [paper] money?” When they explained, they said the cow is worth more to sell than it is to eat. They must wait until the cow is ready to sell so the family can get the most for it. They also mentioned that they wouldn't be able to eat the entire cow soon enough before it would go bad. Elizabeth told me the same it true for the people she has met.

Around communal farms, especially on the C35 the road that goes from Khorixas to Raucana (through Kamanjab and eventually has a turn for Opuwo) you will find goats and cattle roaming free. The closer you get to the turn off to Opuwo, the more animals you'll find on or near the roads. I think it really annoying as it will make the drive much longer as you have to be careful for animals crossing (or standing in the road). Recently, I was very fortunate and honoured to have a free hike to Opuwo, from the Honourable Governor of Kunene (like the Governor of a State). We had an interesting conversation about livestock. Having livestock roam freely seems like a terrible idea, but he told me the reason for this. Apparently, it is human nature to show off the money and wealth one has, and Namibians are no exception. By allowing the livestock to roam freely, baring the brand of the farmer, he can show off his wealth. The more cattle and goats roaming the better off he is (though this isn't with all farmers and places). Interestingly enough, the people here are really respectful of other people's livestock and there seems to be very few issues with crimes against livestock, theft etc.

The other interesting thing about the cattle here, is that the cattle aren't castrated, and they aren't selectively bred like in the states. There also doesn't seem to be any prominent form of husbandry here either. It's been very interesting to see so many bulls and they all have their horns. It's a much different sight than in America. I don't know the breeds they use here, but they have some of the most elegant horns I have seen (save the few stragglers, who I'm guessing, got their ass kicked. I've seen a few bulls, who has one horn pointing up right and one facing down to the ground! I wonder why). I was also told by the Honourable Governor that the horns are needed to protect the cattle, and that some farmers must even train the bulls to protect the others and fend of predators.

2 comments:

  1. It's like I learned in a finance class, if people agree on the value of an object, it can be used as "money" in trade for goods and services. Even if the object is a cow, buttons, or even a piece of string. If there is confidence and agreement of the value of this object, it will become valuable. Who decided that diamonds had value or gold etc... Why is paper money valuable? Because people know and have confidence that they can trade this paper money for things they need. Very cool post!

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  2. How many cattle does it take to be considered "rich"? 10? 100? I'm thinking Barry may be pretty wealthy!

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