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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)
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 policy-makers, 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 over-emphasized. 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 Dyson-Hudson (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 Dyson-Hudson (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:
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
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