RESULTS of archaeological and molecular data today enable us to make conclusions concerning the history of African cattle, including their possible migration routes within the African continent.
As evidenced in the Sahara rock paintings and supported by archaeological evidence, the humpless bos taurus are considered the earliest cattle in Africa, though phenotypically bos indicus, Zebu or humped cattle strains constitute the majority of indigenous cattle on the continent today.
As cattle breeds and populations adapted to the various African environmental conditions, they genetically evolved dramatically to acquire unique features which distinguished them from other cattle.
These features include horn shape and size.
The predominant morphological feature of these cattle is the pair of white, large and long horns, although other horn conditions and pollard variations are also present.
In 1936, a Sanga Farm was established with two herds of Ankole cattle; one of horned and the other of polled animals.
It was observed at a later date that the animals without horns neither bred true for the polled character, nor showed marked superiority over those with horns, thus this part of the experiment was discontinued.
Today, we find a range of diverse cattle populations — from the purest bos taurus to the nearly pure bos indicus currently found all across the continent — with the exception of the Sahara Desert and the River Congo Basin, they are found on the rift valley highlands as well as below sea level in the Afar depression.
However, these unique livestock genetic resources are in danger of vanishing, and their unique adaptive traits may be lost forever as a result of uncontrolled crossbreeding and breed replacements with exotic breeds.
The cattle strain called the Sanga spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of many of the indigenous African populations.
The Sanga demonstrate typical Zebu characteristics such as pendulous dewlap and sheath, upturned horns and neck hump of variable size.
However, present day descendants of the Sanga vary greatly in size, conformation and horns due to differing selection pressures by different tribes.
In southern Africa, they include Nguni, Mashona, Tuli, Malawi Zebu, Bovino de Tete, Angoni, Landim, Barotse, Tswana and Ankole. These breeds have important functions ranging from socio-economic, cultural and ecological roles to the provision of food income and draught power.
The Ankole — a Sanga-type cattle — are considered by experts to have been evolved from the inter-breeding of the lateral-horned Zebu and the Hamitic Longhorn along the south-bound routes. These cattle may have taken accompanying human migrations, until they reached the Zambezi River.
Ancient rock paintings and depictions of Ankole-Watusi cattle have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls.
The Ankole cattle have also been known in other countries of the African great Lakes Region such as Uganda, Ruanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
They are variously known by the indigenous people and the districts with which they are associated and where the breed is fully adapted and are kept under pastoralism and crop-livestock systems.
The breeds have unique genetic attributes such as adaptation and tolerance to drought, heat, diseases and the ability to utilise low-quality indigenous forages.
In the Congo the ‘Bashi’ cattle developed as a result of inter-breeding between the indigenous cattle of the district of the same name, and the ‘Barundi’; a smaller variety of the Ankole with finer and shorter horns.
In Uganda, these giant-horned Sanga breed are particularly remarkable and are known as the ‘Ankole’ by the indigenous Nkole people. In Rwanda and Burundi, the indigenous Tutsi people call the breed the ‘Watusi’.
In Uganda the breed is also known as ‘Nsangala’ – ‘the ones which were found’, and in Rwanda the common strain of Watusi is called ‘Inkuku’.
In the past, these giant-horned Ankole-type breeds were called the ‘Inyambo’ – cows with long, long horns.
Traditionally, those with the largest and longest horns were considered sacred and belonged to the king. They were referred to as the ‘Cattle of Kings’ — owned exclusively by the Tutsi kings and chiefs.
Their horns, often seen purely as ornaments, actually help the cattle to disperse the heat, with some cattle having horns measuring 3,7m from tip to tip.
More recently, two Ankole-Watusi are in the Guinness World Records for the largest horn circumferences for a bull and steer.
In 2004, a bull named C.T. Woodie had horns measuring 103,5cm in circumference and Lurch, the steer’s, measured 95cm.
Both male and female Ankole cattle have similar features, with the exception of a hump, which exists only in the adult males.
Their predominant colour is brown with several shades and patterns; with a minimum occurrence of white and black Ankole cattle as many farmers select against these colours.
Traditionally, Ankole-Watusi supplied milk for the owners, and were rarely used for meat, since, as with most cattle throughout Africa, the cattle provided tribal status whereby the owner’s wealth was counted in live animals; moreover they are often considered sacred.
Milk production of an Ankole-Watusi cow is not high, with a typical cow producing less than the local Zimbabwean Mashona cows; on average only one litre of milk a day for human consumption.
Under traditional management for milk production, an Ankole calf is allowed to suckle briefly to stimulate milk letdown, then the cow is milked.
The calf suckles further after hand-milking has finished and then is separated from its mother again. The process is repeated in the morning. This minimal nourishment of calves results in high death rates in the young.
Owing to the Ankole’s low milk production, attempts were made to select animals which produce more milk and better meat. White settlers to the region began importing exotic milk producing cattle; especially the highly milk-productive Holstein breed introduced by the Heifer International programme.
The imported Holsteins consume unsustainable amounts of dwindling resources, need medical support and are susceptible to local disease. Whereas the Ankole’s current performance is relatively low, largely due to wide variations of sub-optimal management activities, Ankole cattle show a high degree of productive potential.
As with all things associated with Africa, indigenous people’s traditional agro-cultural systems have been ignored — Western colonials, followed by Western agri-services and ‘do-gooders’ who saw it fit to interfere with the African pedigree breeds, imported into Africa, cattle breeds they perceived superior to our indigenous breeds.
Today, Westerners are congratulating themselves for the efforts of private breeders, zoos and associations for their efforts to preserve this indigenous African pedigree.
The disregard of indigenous knowledge and the presumption that all things occidental are better than African is the reason the once King’s Cattle — the Ankole-Watusi breed’s pure genetics — are under heavy stress through cross-breeding with Holsteins and are now faced with extinction.
The presumption that ‘exotic’ Occidental breeds are better that African breeds is a fallacy that African cattle breeders need to re-examine and expunge from their memories before Africa continues to lose its indigenous cattle resource, such as the Ankole in East Africa and the Mashona in Zimbabwe, among other breeds.
Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD. in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) and Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. He is a writer, lecturer, musician, art critic, practicing artist and corporate image consultant. He is also a specialist art consultant, post-colonial scholar, Zimbabwean socio-economic analyst and researcher. He can be contacted on e-mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com