Cow (reaktion Books - Animal)

Cow Hannah Velten Animal series Cow Animal Series editor: Jonathan Burt Already published Crow Boria Sax Snake Drake Stutesman Ant Charlotte Sleigh Whale Joe Roman Tortoise Peter Young Falcon Helen Macdonald Cockroach Marion Copeland Bee Clare Preston Dog Susan McHugh Tiger Susie Green Oyster Rebecca Stott Parrot Paul Carter Bear Robert E. Bieder Cat Katherine M. Rogers Fox Martin Wallen Fly Steven Connor Salmon Peter Coates Peacock Christine E. Jackson Rat Jonathan Burt Forthcoming Swan Peter Young Shark Dean Crawford Duck Victoria de Rijke Spider Katja and Sergiusz Michalski Hare Simon Carnell Cow Hannah Velten reaktion books For my brother, Christian Velten Published by reaktion books ltd 33 Great Sutton Street London ec1v 0dx, uk www.reaktionbooks.co.uk First published 2007 Copyright © Hannah Velten 2007 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers. Printed and bound in China British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Velten, Hannah Cow. – (Animal) 1. Cattle 2. Cattle – History 3. Animals and civilization 4. Human-animal relationships I. Title 636.2 isbn-13: 978 1 86189 326 0 isbn-10: 1 86189 326 4 Contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 Introduction: Reintroducing the Cow, Bull and Ox 7 Wild Ox to Domesticates 10 Bull-Gods, Bull-Kings 31 Cow Mysticism and a Rural Idyll 67 Toiling the Fields and a ‘Cattle Complex’ 97 Cattle Stars and Romantic Associations 127 Poor Cow: Pushing the Boundaries 156 Epilogue: Out of Sight, Out of Mind? 179 Timeline 182 References 184 Bibliography 198 Associations and Websites 201 Acknowledgements 203 Photo Acknowledgements 204 Index 206 Michael J Austin, Right of Way, 2005, oil on canvas. This is a fighting bull from Andalusia, southern Spain, painted ‘at home’ – a breeding ranch in the country. Introduction: Reintroducing the Cow, Bull and Ox In no animal is there to met with a greater variety of kinds; and in none, a more humble and pliant disposition . . . a source of inexhaustible wealth – the pride and boast of this happy country. Thomas Bewick, A General History of Quadrupeds (1790) There are over 1.37 billion cattle in the world.1 How many have you met? Chances are if you live in the West, not many, or none. You can imagine being close to a cow: experiencing their weighty bulk near you, feeling their hot, grassy breath on your face, touching their cool, slimy muzzle or experiencing their curling, sandpaper-like tongue licking your skin. Our ancestors would have known this close contact with cattle, living and working with them, relying on them almost exclusively for food and labour, and even sharing their diseases. This unique relationship between humans and cattle has shaped millennia of global history and culture – both in religious and secular life. In fact, as one commentator states, ‘No other event in early history was of such comparably far reaching significance for the development of human culture as the domestication of oxen.’2 From their limited global beginnings in the Near East, the Indus Valley and Africa, the ‘man-made’ domestic cow followed in the wake of human movement; becoming the symbol of a civilized life. Cattle were revered, loved, exalted and romanticized. Today, cattle are on virtually every continent in the world and the word ‘cow’ is recognized in 539