Cattle, banteng, and yak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An old description of the aurochs is given in Commentarii de Bello Gallico (‘Commentaries on the Gallic War’), by Julius Caesar (c. 100-44 B.C.): “There is a (…) kind of animal, which is called the ure-ox. These German oxen are a little below the elephant in size, and of the appearance, colour, and shape of a bull. Their strength and speed are extraordinary. They spare neither man nor wild beast whom they have espied. The Germans take much pains to trap them in pits and kill them. The young men harden themselves with this exercise and practice themselves in this sort of hunting, and those who have slain the greatest number of them, having produced the horns in public to serve as evidence, receive great praise. But not even if they are caught when they are very young, can these oxen be accustomed to people, and tamed. The size, shape, and appearance of their horns differ much from the horns of our oxen. The Germans eagerly search for these horns, bind their tips with silver, and use them as cups at their most sumptuous entertainments.”

The aurochs was eradicated by hunting. The last ones in the wild lived about 500 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domestication of the eastern subspecies of the aurochs, ssp. namadicus, took place about 6,000 B.C. in the Indus Valley. These domesticated animals evolved into today’s zebu, with its characteristic hump. From the Indus Valley, this breed was brought to practically all warmer areas of Asia, including China, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia. Around 2,000 B.C., it arrived in Africa. Today, it is also found in tropical areas of the Americas. (Source: Ajmone-Marsan et al. 2010)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further complicating the matter is the ability of taurine cattle and zebu to interbreed, and sometimes have fertile offspring, with closely related species of oxen, including yak (Bos grunniens), gaur (B. gaurus), banteng (B. javanicus), American bison (B. bison), and Eurasian bison, or vicent (B. bonasus).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Originally, the word cattle was not applied only to oxen. It originated from Anglo-Norman catel, derived from medieval Latin capitale (‘money’, ‘capital’), which originated from caput (‘head’). In those days, the word cattle covered movable property, especially livestock of any kind, as opposed to real property, the land. The term replaced the Old English word for cattle, feoh, derived from Gothic faihu, which originally also meant ‘property’.

The word cow is a corruption of Anglo-Saxon ku, which was derived from Sanskrit go, which is again derived from Ancient Indo-European gous (‘ox’). In Scotland, a cow is a coo or cou, plural kye, probably terms that came with the Viking invasions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At an early stage, oxen were also utilized to pull the plough, and to work on so-called bucket chains, or pot garlands, in which buckets or pots are attached to a turning wheel, scooping up water from wells and emptying it into irrigation canals.

Various leather items were made from cattle hides, including clothes, shoes, belts, and straps, the latter three still being produced today. At an early stage, cattle dung was utilized as fuel, and later as manure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One episode in the epic describes, how Gilgamesh and Enkidu fought and killed the Bull of Heaven: “The bull seemed indestructible. For hours they fought, until Gilgamesh, dancing in front of the bull, lured it with his tunic and bright weapons, and Enkidu thrust his sword deep into the bull’s neck, and killed it.” (Source: Ziolkowski 2011)

Modern-day bullfighting is a kind of contest, involving a man, in Spanish called a matador de toros (‘bull matador’), who attempts to subdue, immobilize, and kill a bull, usually according to a set of strict rules. The bulls utilized in Spanish-style bullfighting are bred for their aggression and physique, raised free-range with little human contact. (Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In their present form, Friesians originated from the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. Today, however, they are widespread in lowland Europe, where local breeds have often evolved. In the United States, this breed outnumbers all other dairy breeds, producing about nine-tenths of the milk supply. (Source: britannica.com/animal/Holstein-Friesian)

 

 

 

 

 

As the Jersey adapts well to cold as well as hot climates, it has been exported to many countries around the world. Some countries have developed separate breeds.

 

 

 

 

 

Today, Scottish Highland cattle are popular in many countries around the world, as their long coat allows them to be outdoors all the year round, even in harsh climates. They are raised primarily for their meat, which is prized for its low content of cholesterol, and also for the milk, which generally has a very high butterfat content.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The native colour of Angus is completely black, but a red form has recently evolved, and the udder may be white. Black Angus is the most common breed of beef cattle in the U.S., with 332,421 registered in 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of these animals were brought to Copenhagen, where they were being fed with the mash from beer and alcohol production. This fodder produced milk of high quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zebu are characterized by a hump on their shoulder and a large dewlap. Most are white, but greyish, brownish, or blackish forms are sometimes seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Veneration of the cow arose in the Vedic Period, between 1,500 to 600 B.C. The Aryans, who invaded India around 1,500 B.C., were pastoralists, and the importance of cattle was reflected in their religion. Initially, Aryans sacrificed cattle and ate their flesh, but, over time, the slaughter of milk-producing cows gradually became prohibited. Parts of the great epic Mahabharata forbids it, and in the Rigveda, cattle are said to be ‘unslayable’. Panchagavya, the five products of the cow: milk, curd, butter, urine, and dung, are all used in rites of healing, purification, and penance.

When Hinduism took form, the cow was associated with various deities, including Brahma, Shiva, Indra, Krishna, and Yama. Shiva’s steed is the bull Nandi, whereas Krishna was a cowherd in his youth, and Indra is closely associated with Kamadhenu, the wish-granting cow, which is regarded as the source of all prosperity.

In one of the Puranas, the earth-goddess Prithvi milked the cow to generate crops for humans to end a famine, and, subsequently, milked it of beneficent substances for humans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since ancient times, Muktinath has been the site of a temple, dedicated to Vishnu. From the barren landscape here, a sacred spring wells forth. Its waters are led in channels into the temple, where it is divided into 108 fountains, 105 of which are shaped like a cow’s head, the remaining three like a mythical, elephant-like creature. For devout Vaishnavites, a bath in these sacred waters will ensure that you obtain mukti (release from being reborn) after death.

 

 

 

 

 

To many Nepalese, Tihar, or Dipávali (’Festival of Lights’) is the most important festival of the year. According to legend, the death of a Nepalese king had been foretold by a sacred serpent. However, an astrologer predicted that the king might avoid death by placing a row of lamps, dedicated to goddess Lakshmi, from the entrance of the palace, leading to his bed. If the lamp in the doorway was extinguished, the king would die, and he could only be saved, if the serpent would beg for mercy from Yama, the god of death.

When the lamp was extinguished, the serpent approached Yama, who was entirely unaffected, marking a 0 at the king’s name in his register. However, the cunning serpent managed to add a 7 in front of the 0, thus prolonging the king’s life with 70 years.

To commemorate this miraculous gift, the king introduced an annual, five-day-long Festival of Lights, during which devout Nepalese show their gratitude towards Yama and Lakshmi. The most important day of this festival is Lakshmi Puja, in which the sacred cow is worshipped in the morning, as it is regarded as the visible form of the great mother-goddess Lakshmi.

The cows are washed early in the morning, and their forehead, horns and tail are dyed with vermillion powder and turmeric. Mallas (garlands of marigolds) are draped around their neck, and they are fed with delicacies. People remove the sacred raksha thread from their wrist and tie it to the tail of a cow, begging it to guard their souls into heaven after death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Ancient Palestine, a ‘clean beast’ was any animal that would chew the cud and have a completely split hoof, i.e. cattle, sheep, goats, and other members of the family Bovidae, whereas ‘unclean beasts’ were other animals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Banteng was domesticated at an early stage, and today the total population of domesticated animals is around 1.5 million, found mainly on Java and Bali. It has also been introduced to northern Australia, where feral populations constitute a threat to the local ecology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The yak was domesticated by nomadic tribes as early as c. 5000 B.C., and today the population is estimated at 14 million, the vast majority in Chinese territories. The population of wild yak may be fewer than 15,000, and though it is legally protected, illegal hunting still takes place and may threaten this magnificent animal with extinction.

The scientific name is Latin for ‘grunting ox’ – a most descriptive name, as it grunts incessantly.