The Fallacy of The Cattle Complex Theory And Its Implications On The
Development of The Pastoral Fulani Of Nigeria
By
Abdullahi Salihu Abubakar (Baban Sadiq)
Absad143@yahoo.com
salihuabdu@gmail.com
Introduction:
Like all other nationalities around the world, the Fulani have their peculiar way of life
which, in the process of living it to its fullest, various problems of sizeable
dimensions cropped up. Such problems, as unique as their way of life, were
prompted by certain natural and artificial limitations. As they move from one
geographical area to the other, the Fulani encountered series of problems. From
limited grazing reserves to the harsh condition of the weather; from tribal enemies
to livestock bandits; from unfavorable tax systems to hostile social environments. In
their constant sojourn, the Fulani have to contend themselves with diseases such as
anthrax and rinderpest, of which the latter, in 1980s, claimed more than a million
heads of cow within a month.
Equally frustrating is the aberrant landscape, coupled with the unending feud
between them and the farmers, owing to daily struggling over scarce land
resources. The worse of all lies in the chronic illiteracy militating them and alienation
by government decision-makers. And for the sedentary Fulani, who, out of sheer
frustration triggered by the endless obstacles above, divorced bush life to settle in
the metropolitan cities, is facing the challenges of coping with the overbearing
conditions of the complexities of urban life, which is daily negating his cultural norms
and values – Pulaaku.
Disturbed by these negative trends – especially the overstretching of the land
resources and the unending feud, which, particularly, poses serious threats to the
political stability of the nation on one hand, and the intimidating challenges of
modernization and the need to conform to international economic laws on the other
– the government decided to intervene. Various policies were initiated in order to
tackle such problems. However, such policies were never sound, theoretically, and
in cases where they are, were never complemented with sound practical
implementation; for three obvious reasons: one, the basis of designing such policies
was weak, since they were based on negative assumptions on the life of the
pastoralists. Two, in cases where the policies were sound, implementations tend to
be resource-based, instead of people oriented; the Fulani were never consulted or
carried along. The government spends a lot of resources therefore, in vain. And
three, the implementations still, tend to be geared towards the welfare of the
livestock alone, while the fate of the poor pastoralists was left hanging in the
balance. The result, as expected, was total failure, leaving the authorities frustrated,
the Fulani disappointed, while the public became disillusioned. However, and
unfortunately, the buck was finally thrown on the pastoralist, who is being viewed as
conservative, for his failure to avail himself with modernization. He was equally
being accused for his irresistibility in keeping to his tradition, and for this, considered
static, and an agent of arrested development. This should not surprise anybody,
since such ill-conceived notion on the life of the Fulani were the guiding principles in
designing those misinformed policies, as stated above. This finally revealed that the
government of Nigeria, despite the huge resources spent, has no clear policies on the
pastoral Fulani, since those ones were designed on faulty and based on incorrect
premises.
This study is not a policy proposal, but rather, a guide for development planners for
the pastoral Fulani of Nigeria. The paper tend to show that previous policies
regarding the development of the pastoral Fulani were not successful because they
were mostly inspired and guided by various stereotypes and misconceptions on the
life and personality of the Fulani. In the process of studying and analyzing his ways
of life, as the central pillar, the Fulani was erroneously viewed as developing an
“irrational, irresistible and often times irreversible liking” for his animals. And this,
according to early anthropologists and conservationists, is a causative agent in the
deteriorating state of the land resources. This is the central theme of the Cattle
Complex Theory, since Herskovits coined the term in 1926. I equally argued that the
element that sums up this theory is just a component of a larger entity; that other
factors like the importance of cattle to the life of a Fulani, the glaring environmental
constraints facing him on a daily basis, and above all, the complex nature of his
cultural identity – Pulaaku – must be studied, since they are wholly involved in
shaping his entire ways of life. I further stated that the Fulani have a unique but
most dynamic cultural norms and are very ready to accept any development model
only if they understand it, based on their cultural norms and values. The study
finally conclude with the recommendation that unless the cultural identity of the
pastoral Fulani is wholly understood and serves as a guiding principle to policymakers, among other variables, in designing development programs, sound and
concrete development will continue to elude us, as staggering failure keeps on
staring us in the face.
A Synopsis on the Fulani of Nigeria:
Legend has it that the Fulani, as a group of West African pastoralists, hailed from the
Arabian Peninsula and further migrated South-West, to the present day Senegal.
From the Senegalese river valley they moved eastward, crossing several Sahelian
and Sudanian zones, straight to the Red Sea. From these contingent of migrants
emerged the Fulani of Nigeria (Iro, 2001). The majority of Fulani in Nigeria now live
in the Northern States of Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Borno,
Bauchi and present day Adamawa province. While some are equally found in the
highlands of Plateau, Kaduna and Niger States, a great proportion now lives in the
confluence areas of the Niger and Benue Rivers, and Katsina-Ala (Croix, 1999).
Characteristically, the Fulani are light-skinned with curly hair, have pointed nose,
thin lips and are slender build; the born structure being slight. They are often tall.
Both male and female are good-looking, handsome, and with commonly attractive
faces (Croix, 1999). The Fulani are courageous, very intelligence and have a deep
sense of shame; highly strung, very sensitive and are quick in taking offence. This
however, may not be unconnected with the influence of their cultural norms and
values – Pulaaku.
As they moved from one grazing orbit to the other, they come across various
cultures and civilizations, and owing to their peculiar ways of life, they are identified
and known by various names. The Wolof called them Peul, in Bambara they are
known as Fula, Fellaata in Kanuri and Fulani in Hausa. However, the German writers
were the first to use the word Fulbe, in referring to the Fulani, generally (Iro, 2001).
They were classified by early writers on various scales, and for the benefit of this
study, taxonomy will tow the line of those writers, though without due approval from
anthropologists, in dividing the Fulani into two: Fula naturalis, those that are largely
nomadic and who maintain both the traditional culture of the Fulani in cattle rearing;
and Fula domesticus, who divorced bush life, transformed from the natural nomadic
state into that of the sedentary cosmopolitan life; grabbing its opportunities, facing
its challenges and suffering from its problems. The latter have divorced their cattle,
or their cattle have divorced them (Tilde, 2002). But despite this classification,
however, this study will dwell on both categories, with a special attention though, on
the pastoral nomad or Fula naturalis.
The Cattle Complex Theory and the Evidences of the Wrong Premises:
The concept of the Cattle Complex centered on the traditional methods of rising
livestock and the individual pastoralist himself as the principal actor. It is believed
by the proponents of this theory that the traditional pastoralists systems are counter
productive, since they are geared towards an infinite increase in the number of the
livestock without due consideration on the carrying capacity of the land (Iro, 2001).
And this, according to this notion, has a strong correlation with the irrational,
irresistible and often times irreversible liking for animals which the pastoralists are
associated with. Anthropologists believe that such a tendency does not only destroy
the environment, it also inhibits the development and prosperity of the herders
themselves (Iro, 2001).
The origin of the Cattle Complex theory is traced to Herskovits, who coined the term
while pioneering culture area studies within Africa in 1926. Herskovits found many
East African pastoralists to be adhering to what he called “The Cattle Complex”, in
which a strong attachment to cattle to the point of irrationality is maintained
(VerEecke, 1988). Other early Africanists and anthropologists that follow did little
but elaborate and romanticize this stereotype. For instance, one mid-century
Africanist wrote:
We may already note that there is over-emphasis on a single-object (i.e.
cattle) which dominates all other interests and is consistent with those
qualities of simplicity, single-mindedness, and conservatism, so characteristic
of pastoral peoples (Evans-Pritchard, 1940:30)
Moreover, some writers are even wondering whether the Fulani is not under any
contractual obligation with nature as regards his irrational liking and the extent to
which he is ready to go in order to keep his herd healthy and hearty, even such will
require sacrificing his precious soul. One writer succinctly puts:
How the Fula came across the cow remains a mystery. I often wonder if he is
not under a contractual obligation with nature. It might have told him, the
day he broke away from the Jews, the Romans, or the Indians, whichever
theory you believe in: “take these animals and live by them, with them and
for them.” (Tilde, 2002).
At a point, Tilde strongly argues that the cattle seem to be the masters in this
contract, and not the other way round. In his words:
In the age-long relationship between the Fula and the cattle, it is difficult to
distinguish the master from the slave. But I have finally concluded that the
cattle are the masters. He strives to meet their demands for food, water,
space, security and protection against diseases, among others. Though other
domesticated animals do also require each of the above, however, the
aggregate demand of the cow in this respect is obviously the greatest (Tilde,
2002).
Various instances equally abound, showing how preoccupied the Fulani is, in looking
after the cattle. The growing body of literature on the pastoral Fulani is littered with
such historical instances. In his book, titled: Life on the Move with Pastoral Fulani,
FW de st Croix, a once vetinary officer during the British colonial administration of
Nigeria, wrote:
There is a sentimental as well as a practical attachment of the pastoral Fulani
to their animals. One may often see in the pastures, a young herdsman
standing at the head of the cattle, folding the ears and stroking the neck: he
will also speak to an animal by its name – that is the name by which it is
known from its hair coloration and/or the shape of its horns. The cattle know
and will follow the herdsman.... (p 74).
The veneration a Fulani has for a “mother cow” (the head of the cattle – the
progenitor of a small herd), is very enormous. Such a cow is never to be
slaughtered, at all. She is appreciated that when she is past bearing and no longer
of value as a breeder of milker, she is retained in the herd and preferred to be kept
till the last (Croix, 1999). Narrating on a similar, practical instance, Croix wrote:
As an instance, coming to my notice fairly recently, such a ‘mother cow’ had
reached her end, too weak to even rise. Whilst the owner was grieving over
this, others of the group had called in butchers to do their work on her. Upon
their arrival, the owner, an oldish man, told his friends to send them away, he
would not have the butchers there. Finally, after some to-do, a group of his
peers led him away, and the old animal was removed to some little distance
for slaughter. The meet of such animal would probably be distributed as gifts
rather than the carcass be sold to butchers for retailing. (P 74)
Such an irrational liking for animals could only be associated with the Fulani, who
hardly settle their cattle for cash, a legal tender whose value is daily controlled and
determined by inflation.
From the foregoing, it is clear to all and may be a reason for the proponents of the
Cattle Complex theory, that the rate at which the Fulani is attached to his cattle is
overwhelming. This equally makes glaring his so called irrational, irresistible and
irreversible tendencies leading to overstocking, and, as the proponents concluded, a
large number of herds on the field compacts the soil, aggravate fluvial and eolian
erosion, and turn palatable herbs and shrubs to non-palatable annuals (Iro, 2001).
However, three key factors are ignored while making this assertion. These are
explained below.
The Importance of Cattle:
The importance of livestock to the human race, not only to the Fulani alone, is overemphasized. And for the Fulani, the custodian of these animals and who have a
special interest on their daily welfare, the importance is better imagined. Various
scholars on African pastoralists show that such a special penchant is not only
associated with the Fulani of Nigeria. Writing on the importance of livestock to the
Karimojong, another group of African pastoral nomads, Dyson-Hudson and DysonHudson (1966) succinctly put:
Understanding the Karimojong herding operations means understanding that,
to the Karimojong, cattle mean many things. Cattle are property, and
accordingly they represent various degrees of wealth, of social status, and of
community influence. They are man’s legacy to his sons. They can be
exchanged to symbolize formal contract of friendship and mutual assistance.
The transfer of cattle from the groom’s family to the bride’s is needed to
validate a marriage. The sacrifice of cattle is a vital feature of religious
observances (Iro, 2001).
Animals, to the Fulani, are prestige-makers. One is recognized and respected
depending on the number of his cattle. Also, cattle are barter items, or currency.
They could be an insurance against disasters; they are equally sources of food and
labor. Equally, a typical nomadic family may require at least thirty-six heads of
cattle for its annual assistance. During birth, dead, marriages and circumcision
rituals, the Fulani slaughter of suffocate a goat, a sheep, or a barren cow, the meat
of which is shared among guests, friends, relatives and neighbors (Iro, 2001).
Keeping a large number of herds, to the Fulani, is not a sign of greediness, rather,
an insurance against draughts, diseases, bushfires, livestock thefts and wildlife
attacks. In the rural areas, the bovine provide the power of plowing, threshing
grains, moving goods and drawing water from the wells. In some areas, still, the
dung is needed for home plastering, and as fossil fuel for cooking. To finally
summarize the importance of livestock, Dr. Ismaila Iro (2001) quoted Navile DysonHudson (1966:83), thus:
Milk and blood of cattle is drunk; their meat is eaten; their fat used as food
and cosmetics; their urine as cleanser; their hides makes sleeping-skin,
shoulder capes, anklets; their horn and hooves provide snuffy holders,
feather boxes and food containers; bags are made from scrota; their
intestines are used for prophecy, and their chime for anointing; their
droppings provide fertilizer (Iro, 2001).
The above analysis on the importance of livestock explains the rationale behind
overstocking among traditional pastoralists. And since such a tendency leads to the
overgrazing of the land, owing to the large concentration of the animals, the
destructive nature of this action becomes obvious. This then leads us to the second
factor.
Environmental Constraints:
The traditional pastoralist has always been crucified and held responsible for
overstretching the land resources owing to his perceived penchant for herd
maximization. On the other hand, few care to reason with him on the glaring
constraints he is daily facing with regards to the grazing environment.
Environmental constraints, for our information, are a subset of the overall problems
of the Fulani. Though land attributes such as water, soil vegetation can be
conserved, little could be done to improve rainfall, humidity or temperature. Equally,
researchers are of the view that the state of the environment is not the making of
the human beings. So, even if, for example, core and peripheral grazing stop, the
Sahelian and Chadian zones will permanently remain as they are – barren (Iro,
2001). And since the traditional pastoralist wander from one grazing orbit to the
other, through the natural dictation of the rainfall, there is little grounds why the
buck should be passed over to him. But despite this, he still remains the punching
bag, automatically telling him to make sacrifices of either destocking or continue to
wander in distress. The traditional pastoralist thus finds himself between the devil
and the deep blue sea; head or tail, he looses.
This finally indicates the fact that the true identity of the traditional pastoralist,
culturally-wise, is still not known, at all. It equally shows that it is on the basis of
these casual generalizations that previous policies were built and implemented,
hence the glaring failure. In order to see the true nature and cultural identity of the
Fulani, the third factor now comes to the fore.
Pulaaku - The Fulani Code of Life:
Pulaaku has been described as the extent of being “Fulb’e.” Many writers equally
see it as the central code of the Fulani life, entirely. In his Fulfulde – English
Dictionary, Croix (1998) defines it as the “Fulb’e code of conduct; Fulb’eness.” Dr.
Aliyu Tilde (2002) elaborates more:
The single feature that cuts across the behavior of the Fulani is what he and
others call pulaaku. It is the altruism (Hausa: kara) that makes him consider
the interest of others first, before his. It is also the shyness (Hausa: kunya)
that prevents him from enjoying what is lawful like gifts, or prevents him
form publicly showing his attachment and concern for a beloved one. It is
also the endurance (Hausa: juriya) that enables him to withstand pains and
difficulties silently, without complaining. It is also the caution and pride that
makes him to avoid anything ignoble and degrading.
Other scholars have a wider view on what constitutes pulaaku. In her own research,
Catherine VerEecke noted other elements making up Pulaaku. In her words:
. . . many other elements or virtues “make-up” pulaaku, such as endam
(compassion), ngoru (bravery), ned’d’aku (dignity, self respect), goongaaku
(truthfulness), and nd’maku (being free) (1988).
Other elements like cattle, herdsmanship, migrations, and living in the bush, may
well be associated with “being Fulb’e.” In discussions of pulaaku , elements as
sauru, ladde, daangol, and luumo recur so frequently, indicating that they symbols,
part of a complex symbolic system, which not only stand for various aspects of the
Fulani livelihood and socio-cultural system, but also are effective: they play a vital
role in a social process and behavior (VerEecke, 1988).
It is evident from the above explanations that though the central elements of
pulaaku is being seen to be practiced and associated with other religions and cultures
across the world, they are more particular with the Fulb’e, since to them is code of
life and serves as a cultural identity (Tilde, 2002). In a broader sense, pulaaku is
the path which guides a Fula to be a just, moral, virtuous and well-mannered
individual. This, many Fulani believe, is peculiar to their own kind, it is said, “Pullo
haa semteende maayata”,meaning: “a Pullo will die of his shyness” (VerEecke,
1988).
Now, looking at the symbols associated with Pulaaku, as noted above, they seem to
represent two decisive and rather dichotomous forces in Fulani life. They are
symbols depicting the struggle to master the challenges and hardships they
encounter and endure in their daily lives. And two, the security and complacency
they always experience among their own people and in abiding by their cultural
norms. These challenges are apparent in the history of the Fulani, who, for
centuries, struggle to retain their distinctiveness, their means of exploiting their
environment, and their cultural identity. They equally resisted enslavement, while at
times, enslave those who impinge on their freedom and integrity. Moreover, the
Fulani have striven to retain domination over cattle husbandry skills; another
rationale for their distinctiveness (VerEecke, 1988).
It is now time to ask: what are the implications of pulaaku, as far as cultural changes
are concerned? Well, the fact that pulaaku is obtained through “finugo tawa” or
“tawaangal” (tradition), suggests a strong adherence to Fulb’e traditional ways and a
kind of conservatism. As with many human societies, the Fulani is not prepared to
jeopardize his traditions, like cattle ownership, migratory patterns, and a complex of
network of social relations. As such, the value he attributed to these should not,
however, be interpreted as his unwillingness to experiment with new techniques,
especially as his age-long traditional occupation. While engendering a sense of pride
in Fulani heritage, pulaaku has also provided a blueprint for confronting change of
many kinds; aloofness, reserve and caution may initially serve as a defense or an
affront in face of new situations or people, but when thee new experiences come to
be perceived as “bod’d’um” (good thing), such a change can be met with enthusiasm
and fervor or “hubbere.” And as noted earlier, efforts for just causes should be
endued to the point of death. Instances abound in the literature where the Fulani
experimented, adapted and finally excelled in various professions other than their
own, from the period of the great Jihad to the present day (VerEecke, 1988). Such a
“dynamic conservatism” could only be associated with the Fulani.
In the final analysis, the above three factors, it is apparent, were never considered
as variables in initiating guided change in the development programs of the pastoral
Fulani of Nigeria, hence the glaring failure being experienced. As sociological
concepts, the value of livestock and the overall entity of the cultural identity of the
Fulani – pulaaku – were dismissed as mere mystifications of their material pursuits,
while the environmental constraints facing them were overlooked. The
consequences of such a casual, hasty generalization are enumerated in the following
section.
The Negative Implications:
As noted above, it was the works of earlier Africanists anthropologists on the
pastoral nomads that gave rise to the elaborate but romanticized notion of the Cattle
Complex theory. After being accused of developing an “irrational” liking towards his
cattle, his action, argued the earlier writers, have a strong correlation with the
devastation of the land resources owing to overgrazing. As such, they were called all
sorts of names, and blackmailed for no concrete reason. Huxley (1949:89), another
mid-century Africanist, was one of such “freelance” critics:
. . . these obstinately conservative nomads, wandering with their enormous
herds from pasture to pasture, seem like dinosaurs or pterodactyls, survivors
from a past age with a dying set of values – aristocratic, manly, free
doomed… (VerEecke, 1988).
However, in recent years, there has been a radical shift from such sociological
emphasis which characterized earlier studies, to an approach focusing on
pragmatics. As policy-makers and environmentalists, all under the clock of
development, began to strategize about what ideally should be done in order to bring
the pastoralists into the mainstream society, various programs were introduced.
However and unfortunately, these programs failed woefully because they based
squarely on those generalized, unsubstantiated assumptions about the traditional
pastoralists and development. Such assumptions include the following:
1. That the pastoralists are destructive of their own environment (even when the
2.
3.
4.
5.
environmental constraints facing the traditional pastoralists were never
considered and brought into the mainstream policy-making body);
That a uniform mode of pastoralists economy is applicable to most African
ecosystem, Nigeria inclusive;
That all requirements including land, capital and pastoralists cooperation
could be readily obtained (even when his cultural system of living, his
identity, per se, were suspended as mere mystifications of his material
pursuits);
That restricted freedom of select peoples would not have negative, social,
cultural and economic repercussions; and
That there would be no aberrations in environmental conditions (i.e.
draughts) during the period of the program etc.
Armed with these as the basis of designing the programs, as they commenced
implementation, the political domain, planners, advocates of pastoralists started
experiencing chains of various problems. They finally find themselves wallowing in
practical dilemmas on the appropriate course to take: to destock or re-stock; to
settle with or without agriculture; to have open or fenced rangeland; to have large or
semi-scale sedentarisation; and finally, whether all these strategies should be
subsumed under the goal of education (VerEecke, 1988). With these chains of
problems confronting such programs and their implementers, most of the projects
were unsuccessfully implemented, some implemented half-way, while others were
never implemented at all, despite huge financial commitments. The result, finally,
was total disillusionment, disappointment, and frustration on both sides.
Conclusion:
This study has so far looked at the underlying assumptions on which the Cattle
Complex theory was conceptualized and its implications, as a basis or guide in
designing developmental program on traditional pastoralism in Nigeria. It equally
argued that such basis was mere faulty generalization, and that three key factors
were neglected, and never considered as variables while initiating guided change.
The pastoralists’ cultural identity, including the importance of cattle as far as his
daily life is concerned, should henceforth be considered when designing such
developmental programs. One other natural factor worth considering, also, is the
environmental constraints facing him. This aside, he seasonally moves from one
grazing orbit to the other, perhaps to give respite to the already exhausted grazing
treks; by the way, he does not use the land resources alone (a part from natural
factors, farmers are there, engaging him on a daily basis, adding more troubles to
his already existing ones.
The study equally adds that within the Fulani culture, there is a strong capacity for
change, and at the same time, for defense or reactionary behavior, which is often
misinterpreted as conservatism. If they are confronted with the iron hand of
development with a little recourse to their own perspectives on it, inevitably, they
would recourse to a defensive cultural solution. On the contrary, if they are
confronted with due compassion and treated as subjects not objects of development,
there is strong indication they will reciprocate with the same kind of compassion
(VerEecke, 1988). This finally shows the “dynamic conservatism” of the traditional
pastoralists in confronting perceived alien cultural forces within the society. And
since the failure of many development schemes in Africa has been traced to
developers’ unwillingness to give any cognizance to pastoralists’ cultural systems, let
alone their technical know-how - both of which are labeled inferior – the government
should therefore combat this naivety by encouraging intensive, interdisciplinary
research, aiming at informing the public of the cultural richness and technical
sophistication and adaptability of Nigeria’s pastoral nomads.
Baban Sadiq
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
Tower 421, Constitution Avenue
Central Area, P. M. B 315
Garki – Abuja, Nigeria.
Absad143@yahoo.com salihuabdu@gmail.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/nurul-islam
Monday, 6th June, 2005 – 5:32pm