CATTLE have been domesticated by man since at least the early Neolithic age and have come to occupy a unique role in man’s history.
In Africa, cattle are often an integral part of the culture, traditional customs and way of life
Cattle, together with camels, goats and grain have been used as currency or barter trade in many parts of the world since as early as 9000 BC.
In Zimbabwe, we are all familiar with the many traditional and cultural uses of cattle and their by-products.
Cattle dung is a precious commodity used as disinfectant to floor polish. Dried cattle dung, (ndove in Shona), is also used like dry timber as fuel for cooking or warming.
When mixed with ash from the cooking hearth, cattle dung makes a good plaster for both the walls and floor of a mud hut; making a well-plastered hut an undeniably very cosy, neat dwelling.
The mixture also acts a termite repellent and huts thus treated last for decades.
Cattle dung has also been found to be a veritable insecticide.
Cattle manure also has its uses; when used as fertiliser it is a valuable source of nutrients and organic matter.
According to scientific estimates, cattle and other livestock emit about 80 to 93 mega tonnes of methane per year, accounting for an estimated 37 percent of anthropogenic methane emissions.
According to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the livestock sector is ‘responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions’.
Forage-fed cattle are said to produce more methane than grain-fed cattle.
Scientists have also carried out tests on cattle temperament. According to scientists, temperament can affect production traits such as carcass and meat quality or milk yield as well as affecting the animal’s overall health and reproduction.
Cattle temperament — generally assumed to be multi-dimensional and is defined by scientists as: ‘the consistent behavioural and physiological difference observed between individuals in response to a stressor or environmental challenge. It is used to describe the comparatively stable difference in the behavioural predisposition of an animal, which can be related to psychobiological mechanisms’.
In studies of cattle’s visual predisposition, the position of the ears has been used as an indicator of the animal’s emotional state.
It is understood that when cattle are stressed, this can be recognised by other cattle as it is communicated by alarm substances in the urine.
Cattle urine has also been known to be multi-functional and used in several traditional cultures worldwide.
The Kikuyu of East Africa are known to traditionally use cow’s urine to sterilise the gourd used to store the milk.
The urine is also used to sterilise the hands that do the milking.
Some Kikuyu communities mix cow’s urine with the cow’s milk which they drink as a meal.
The blood is also used. Blood mixed with well-seasoned potatoes and other bits of pre-cooked pieces of meat, intestines are stuffed to make very tasty sausage — like Amalulu?
Cow urine is commonly used in India for internal medical purposes.
It is distilled and then consumed by patients seeking treatment for a wide variety of illnesses.
In India, cow urine, known as gomutra, has had a long history in traditional Indian cultural medicine though it should be noted that cow urine therapy is not a nourishing process.
Instead, it is cleansing and detoxifying in nature.
Moreover, urine obtained from a cow that is pregnant is believed to contain special minerals and hormones.
Anaemia can also be treated using a mixture known as ‘Mahayograj Guggul’.
The mixture contains cow’s milk and urine together with a herbal blend of three equal parts of bibhitaki, haritaki and amalaki.
A mixture of cow’s urine mixed with ghee, yoghurt and black pepper is said to be used for the treatment of fever.
Sore throats can be treated by gargling with a distillate of cattle’s urine mixed with honey and turmeric powder; and gomutra mixed with ‘daruharidra’ is said to be used for the treatment of epilepsy.
Traditional Indian homeopaths believe gomutra can also be used in the treatment of cancer and leprosy, and hold it can be helpful in the treatment of peptic ulcer, asthma and certain liver ailments.
Indian scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) already obtained US patents for an Indian medicine containing a distillate mixture of cattle urine – which is said to act as an antibiotic.
In 2010, a research department of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of India acquired a US patent for a drug their researches claims as being an anti-cancer drug.
The mixture is claimed to prevent DNA damage caused by oxidation.
In Nigeria, children who suffer from convulsions are said to be treated using a concoction made of garlic, tobacco, rock salt, cow’s urine and lemon basil juice!
More recently, a story in the UK Times of London reported that an Indian organisation was launching a soft drink made of cow urine.
The bovine brew was in the final stages of its development by the Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS); India’s biggest and oldest Hindu nationalist group.
The head of the department said the drink to be called gau jal, or cow water — was undergoing its final laboratory tests and was to be launched soon.
Speaking from his headquarters on the River Ganges, the company’s spokesman assured the public the drink would neither smell nor taste of urine.
The spokesman told The Times: “Don’t worry, it won’t smell like urine and will be tasty too. Its unique selling point will be that it’s going to be very healthy. It won’t be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxins.”
“… If this product is successful, the company intends to launch a delicious line of cow pies in four fabulous flavours — Holstein, Brahma, Guernsey and Jersey…” he continued.
Cattle are currently the basis of a multi-billion-dollar industry worldwide.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimated 1,47 billion herd of cattle globally for 2013; Asia 495 million; South America 348 million; Africa 305 million (about 231 million in 2003); Europe 122 million; North America 102 million; Central America 46 million; Oceania 42 million; and Caribbean 9 million.
The many benefits of cattle and their by-products should not be overlooked by the Zimbabwe Command Agriculture and Command Livestock Programmes.
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. E-mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that this writer does not recommend the ingestion of any BOVINE fluids or chemicals discussed in this article which is purely based on written research only, not on any scientific or empirical medically approved authority.