User:Aluurts/Cattle in religion and mythology

Ancient Nubia
As cattle were a central part of the pastoralist economy of Ancient Nubia, they also played a prominent role in their culture and mythology, evidenced by burials and rock art. Starting in the Neolithic period, cattle skulls, also known as bucrania, were often placed alongside human burials. Bucrania were a status symbol, and they were used frequently in adult male burials, occasionally in adult female burials, and rarely in child burials. In cemeteries at Kerma, there is a strong correlation between the number of bucrania and the quantity and lavishness of other grave goods. Dozens if not hundreds of cattle were often slaughtered as tribute for the burial of one individual; 400 bucrania were found at one tumulus alone at Kerma. The use of cattle skulls rather than those of sheep or goats reveal the importance of cattle in their pastoral economy, as well as the cultural associations of cattle with wealth, prosperity, and passage into the afterlife. Sometimes complete cattle were buried alongside their owner, symbolic of their relationship continuing into the afterlife.

Beginning in the third millennium BCE, cattle became the most popular motif in Nubian rock art. The bodies are usually depicted in profile, while the horns are facing forward. The length and shape of the horns and the pattern on the hide varied widely. Human silhouettes are often drawn alongside the cattle, symbolic of the important symbiotic relationship between cattle and humans. One interpretation of early depictions of cattle in rock art is that they were used as a source of magic to ensure success when hunting. For pastoralists, drawing cattle may have also been a way to ensure the health of their herd. The role of cattle in Nubian mythology is more covert than in Egypt to the north, where several gods are often depicted as cattle; however, the significance of cattle in Nubian culture is evident in burial practices, understandings of the afterlife, and rock art.