Cattle Culture in South Sudan
South Sudan is dominated by livestock - literally. According to the South Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture, there are some 12,000,000+ cattle in South Sudan (compared to some 8,000,000 people) and another 19,000,000 sheep and goats, as well as uncounted chickens, guineas, and other fowl. This makes South Sudan the top livestock producing country in the world in terms of head of livestock per capita. On the weekend of March 16, 2013, a small group of us went to Terekeke, about 45 miles north of Juba to visit some cattle camps run by the Mundari tribe. This area, incidentally, was one of the most heavily damaged during the years of fighting with Sudan when the people of South Sudan were seeking their independence from Arab and Islamic rule. The Mundari people are one of South Sudan's smaller tribal groups, most easily identified by the "scarification" on their foreheads, which typically consists of two sets of three lines on opposite sides of the forehead that are not...