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April 09, 2006
Name that cow!
So I thought I'd better check up on my cows.
"Yusufi" looks after some of my cows while I am away. He keeps them among his own animals, and his wives sell some of the milk to bring a bit of extra cash into the family budget.
A couple of years ago, I wrote about getting my first cow and the reason for buying cows, and the day my cow got lost. Since then, I have added a few more cows, and some have given birth, and others have died or been sold.
Now, you’re not allowed to ask how many cows I have, as that would be a very un-Fulani thing to do, and likely to provoke a fight. But I have a few.
Fulani names for cows are not dainty names like Daisy or Buttercup. They are much more practical, like “White cow with mottled brown neck”. Except in Fulfulde. Here are the names of some of my cows that you can see in the photos. See if you can guess which one is which (you can click on the photos to see bigger pictures):
Hurooy wunne: “White cow with brown mottled top”
Jamale wunne (offspring of Hurooy wunne): “Mottled cow”
Waage singe: “White cow with red top”
Wurooy singe (offspring of Waage singe): "White cow with patchy red top"
Nayee (offspring of Waage singe): “Red cow”
I think I have the names right, but I'm sure Steve will correct me if I'm wrong.
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso cows travel sahel cattle fulani
Posted by Keith at April 9, 2006 07:28 AM
Comments
Cool cows..I like the ones with the long horns..They look rather mellow are they easy to handle???
Posted by: Donna at April 9, 2006 10:49 PM
Yes, they are very good-tempered. :O)
Posted by: Keith at April 25, 2006 05:05 PM
