User:Nomadictoadhopper/sandbox

= The Nuer People =

Cattle
The life of the Nuer people primarily depends on cattle which has shaped them into being a pastoralist group, but sometimes they are known to resort to horticulture as well. If they weren't threatened by the numerous diseases cattle could catch then they would solely rely on pastoralism. Due to the seasons of harsh weather, the Nuer move around time after time to ensure that their primary source of living is safe. They tend to travel when heavy seasons of rainfall come to protect the cattle from getting hoof disease, or when there is a scarcity of resources for the cattle. Evan Pritchard notes: “They depend on the herds for their very existence...Cattle are the thread that runs through Nuer institutions, language, rites of passage, politics, economy, and allegiances.“ If they didn't have cattle most of their traditions or other characteristics shaped by cattle in their culture would be altered.

Cattle is their primary resource that can be utilized in more than one way. They are able to structure their entire culture around cattle and still have what they need. Times before development the Nuer used every single piece of cattle to their advantage. Evan Pritchard describes the characteristics that are revolved around cattle: Cattle helped evolve the Nuer culture into what it may be today. It has shaped the daily duties of the Nuer as they are seen to dedicate themselves to protecting and ensuring safety to the cattle. One can see their true dedication for cattle in times of bad health. For example, each month they place their faces into the ass of their cattle blowing air to relieve or keep them from constipation. Cattle are no good to the Nuer if they are constipated because they are restricted from producing primary resources that families need to survive. Evan Pritchard learned that, "The importance of cattle in Nuer life and thought is further exemplified in personal names." They structure the names of their children off of biological features of the cattle themselves.

E.E. Evans-Pritchard noted that, "I have already indicated that this obsession—for such it seems to an outsider is due not only to the great economic value of cattle but also to the fact that they are links in numerous social relationships." All of their raw materials come from these cattle things such as drums, rugs, clothing, spears, shields, containers, and leather goods. There isn’t one single part of the cattle that the Nuer throw away. As they have purpose for ritual intent, churning cheese and even to cleanse the body. Even daily essentials found in common cultures like toothpaste and mouthwash are created with the cattle’s dung and urine. They even use the cattle's dung for everyday use. What they do is gather the dung that the cattle have extracted overnight and put them in big abundant piles. Once they have them in piles they chop the dung into smaller pieces and leaves it out to hardened. From there they use it for whatever resource they may need like containers, toothpaste, or even to protect the cattle themselves. They protect the cattle by feeding the dung to the fire allowing it to produce more smoke keeping insects away from cattle to prevent them from catching a disease.

The Nuer people never eat cattle just because they want to. Cattle are very sacred to them, therefore when they do eat cattle they honor its ghost. They typically just eat the cattle that is up in age on dying because of sickness. But even if they do so, they all gather together performing rituals dances or songs before and after they slaughter the cattle. Never do they just kill cattle for the fun of it. “Never do Nuer slaughter animals solely because the desire to eat meat. There is the danger of the ox’s spirit visiting a curse on any individual who would slaughter it without ritual intent, aiming only to use it for food. Any animal that dies of natural causes is eaten.” Many times it may not even just be cattle that they consume, it could be any animal they have scavenged upon that has died because of natural causes. There are a few other food sources that are available for the Nuer to consume. The Nuer diet primarily consists of fish and millet. “Their staple crop is millet." Millet is formally consumed as porridge or beer. The Nuer turn to this staple product in seasons of rainfall when they move their cattle up to higher ground. They might also turn to millet when the cattle are performing well enough to support their family.

Kinship roles
Kinship along the Nuer is very important to them, they refer to their blood relatives as “gol”. Kinship within the Nuer is formed off of one’s neighbors or their entire culture. During Evan Pritchard’s ethnographic observation, he described the role of kinship as: “Kinship obligations include caring for the children of one’s kin and neighbors. He also observed that,"The network of kinship ties which links members of local communities is brought about by the operation of exogamous rules, often stated in terms of cattle." This is never thought to be the sole responsibility of the child’s parents." Cattle are judged by how much milk they can produce which is a necessity in their culture. If possible they create the excess of milk into cheese. But if a family’s herd cannot produce the amount of milk a family needs then they turn to other around them to give them what they need. It’s seen as their responsibility to step in and help the family since it’s not really their fault on how much their cattle can produce. “When one household has a surplus, it is shared with neighbors. Amassing wealth is not an aim. Although a man who owns a large herd of cattle may be envied, his possession of numerous animals does not garner him any special privilege or treatment.” The entire Nuer society is basically watching after each other. In this tribe there is no special treatment for how one is treated because of their abundance in cattle. Just because one might have more cattle than another doesn't mean they have a higher prestige. If one might have more than enough to provide for themselves then they also provide that to other kin that are in need, as it is a part of their role in kinship.