— South Sudan is the world's youngest
country, and it has witnessed immense change
since gaining independence in 2011. The promise
of peace has given way to civil war, and tribal
rifts continue to run deep, permeating political
affairs. Over two million people have been
displaced according to the UN, and tens of
thousands killed.
Amid the tumult is the Mundari, a people who
would rather get on with doing what they do best:
looking after their cattle.
THE MUNDARIS'
MEAT** the family
It would be hard to find a more dedicated group
of herdsmen than the tribe who live on the banks
of the Nile, north of the capital Juba. Their entire
lifestyle is geared around caring for their prized
livestock, the Ankole-Watusi , a horned breed
known as "the cattle of kings."
These cows grow up to eight feet tall, and are
worth as much as $500 each. It's no wonder the
Mundari view these animals as their most
valuable assets (or that they guard them with
with machine guns).
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Photographer Tariq Zaidi spent a fortnight earlier
this year documenting their lives and the devotion
they show towards these animals. Zaidi has
captured tribes and indigenous people from over
30 African nations, though he was nonetheless
taken aback by the relationship between man and
beast.
"It's hard to overstate the importance of cattle to
the Mundari people," says Zaidi, "these animals
are everything to them."
The photographer describes how "almost every
man I met wanted me to take a picture of them
with their favorite cow." Their wives and children,
on the other hand, were given short shrift.
Perhaps this is in part due to the function and
symbolism of the Ankole-Watusi. Each bovine is
so highly prized that it is rarely killed for its
meat. Instead, it is a walking larder, a pharmacy,
a dowry, even a friend. It is clear that cow is a
resource maintaining not just a people, but a way
of life.
The Mundari, tall and muscular, may "look like
bodybuilders," says Zaidi, "but their diet is pretty
much milk and yogurt. That's it." Other bodily
fluids have more unlikely uses. Mundari men will
squat under streams of cow urine, both an
antiseptic, Zaidi suggests, and as an aesthetic
choice -- the ammonia in the urine color the
Mundari's hair orange.
Meanwhile dung is piled high into heaps for
burning, the fine peach-colored ash used as
another form of antiseptic and sunscreen by the
herdsmen, shielding them from the 115-degree
heat.
The cows, adds Zaidi, are among the world's
most pampered. He says he witnessed Mundari
massaging their animals twice a day. The ash
from dung fires, as fine as talcum powder, is
rubbed into the cattle's skin and used as bedding,
while ornamental tassels swat flies from the eyes
of the herd's most prestigious beasts.
Outflanking war
The Mundari sleep among their cattle, "literally
two feet away from their favorites" says Zaidi,
and guard them at the point of a gun. It's not
unreasonable for the tribe to go to these lengths.
"Rustlers are a huge issue for them," the
photographer explains. "Their cattle are a form of
currency and status symbol, and form a key part
of a family's pension or dowry. Since the end of
the civil war, thousands of men have returned to
South Sudan looking for wives, which has pushed
up the 'bride price', making these animals even
more precious and increasing lethal cattle raids."
Such raids have been deadly for the Mundari, but
the effects of war are manifold. Landmines make
finding fresh pasture a dangerous lottery. When
he visited, Zaidi says the tribe were using a small
island in the Nile as a safe haven. The conflict,
he adds, has the paradoxical effect of preserving
their way of life.
"The ongoing war in South Sudan has cut off the
Mundari tribe from the rest of the world," he
says. "They don't venture into the town, they stay
in the bush, and it's why their unique way of life
endures."
Zaidi says the Mundari have no taste for war and
"their guns are not to kill anyone but to protect
their herd." All the Mundari want to do is take
care of their livestock, he argues, "and they will
protect them at all costs."
Oluwamarc.com from CNN
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