Zebu
Zebu, or brahminy cattle (Bos indicus; sometimes called humped oxen or Brahman), are a species of domesticated livestock native to India. According to some, they are the same species as common cattle (Bos taurus), but others think that the two are separate species. Zebu are usually white or gray, with a large hump over the shoulders, a deep undulating dewlap, and hanging ears. They do not bellow but give a short grunt.
Zebu are thought to have evolved from the wild ox of Java and Borneo and to have been domesticated in South Asia as early as the ninth millennium BCE. They were depicted on seals of the Indus Valley civilization (2700–1500 BCE). Today, zebu are the preeminent draft animals in Indian farming (though camels are used in some areas), and along with water buffalo they are used as beasts of burden in Africa as well. Some breeds of Bos indicus were selected for their milk-producing ability and serve as dairy animals in India. Their cooked flesh is abhorred by Hindus and Buddhists alike, but their leather forms the basis of a major industry in South Asia.
In some Hindu sects, white zebu are "sacred cows," the most sacred of all animals, because they are associated iconographically with the god Siva. Since the Kushan era (78–200 CE), they have been known as Nandi, the sacred mount or vehicle of Siva, and Siva temples have a figure of a white zebu facing the entrance to the shrine. In sacred cities like Varanasi (Benares), some zebu bulls are branded with Siva's insignia as a sign that they belong to the god, and are permitted to roam the streets. For this reason, the species has come to be known as "Brahman" outside India.
Zebu are resistant to extreme heat and to many of the insects that attack other cattle species, and thus are suited for the hot climates of their ancestral home areas. For this reason, cattle breeders in the southern United States and Latin America have imported them since the mid-nineteenth century to breed with native beef cattle and have produced hardy crosses such as the Santa Gertrudis (Brahman and Shorthorn), Charbray (Brahman and Charolais), and Brangus (Brahman and Angus).
Further Reading
Prater, Stanley H. (1971) "Origin of Domestic Breeds." In The Book of Indian Animals. 3d ed. Bombay (Mumbai), India: Bombay Natural History Society, 240–241.
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