SOUTH SUDAN 5°26’28.7”N 31°44’10.0”E
smoke swirls above a plain in remote South Sudan. Just before sunrise, statuesque nomads rouse themselves and their beloved cows to life. Bare feet and cloven hooves stir the golden dust of Africa into the morning sky while the jingle of cowbells, yipping children, and braying cattle herald the start of a new day in the world of South Sudan’s Mundari people. Their days begin with chores. Young men are tasked with rubbing fire ash into the pelts of cows to prepare them for a day of life in the searing African sun. The ash from the fire acts as both a sunblock and an insect repellent for men and beasts. Children run through the camp of untethering cows, collecting milk for their families and gathering fresh cow dung into mounds that, when dry, fuel the overnight fires they’ve just woken alongside. And so begins another day in the life of the Mundari, the almost mythical cattle people living at the birthplace of Africa’s White Nile. The gigantic Ankole Watusi cows, some standing up to 6.6 feet tall at their shoul- ders, are the centre of the Mundari universe. The almost symbiotic relationship between the Mundari and their cows isn’t only unique to Africa but most likely to the entire world. Ask a Mundari man his name, and he’s likely to answer “Deng,” “Majok,” “Mayom,” or another name that is synonymous with the colour of his favourite cow. He may greet you with his arms held high in the air in the same shape as his cow’s horns. For that morning, he may have also bathed directly in the stream of his urinating cow, an act that is not only one of cleanliness but will also dye his hair orange. His children will drink milk directly from the udders of his cows and collect dung almost directly from the defecating animal. Walking between sleeping and standing cows in a Mundari camp, you need never worry about being kicked or butted. The Mundari handle their Ankole Watusi cows with great affection and gentleness from the time they’re born. Handled by humans from birth, their cows are not only used to being with the Mundari, they even seek their owners out. During the day, the young men of the Mundari take their cattle out onto the grassy plains to graze, while women, children, and a scattering of young men remain at camp. Pregnant women and elders often retreat from the harshness of life in the cattle camps, preferring to live in towns. By sunset, the young men return, with their sated cattle in tow, to the camp where children run to gather ropes for tethering and women start the fires made from dried dung to cook dinner. Beneath a blanket of a million stars and warmed by the glowing embers burning at the hearth, a Mundari family whispers songs into the night sky to lull their children to sleep. This is the cycle of Mundari life. Despite a few modern touches and a recent influx of adventurous tourists, their world has remained largely intact, their culture preserved by strength and relative isolation in Africa’s newest country. “Giant Ankole Watusi cows lie at the heart and soul of Africa’s Mundari people, connecting them with the realm of spirits.” INGER VANDYKE
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MOTHER VOLUME TWO
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