In the Missiriya tribe in Sudan .. tell me how many cows have less of you than you?

Ismail Tissot - Khartoum

Cows are a prominent feature in the social life of the Missiriya tribe in Sudan and an important criterion for multiplying the owner's chances of winning the beauties of the tribe, which considers polygamy a natural matter, unlike many other tribes and societies.

The Misseriya has more than 23 million heads of cows, which represents 25% of Sudan's cows, according to the report of the Ministry of Livestock in West Kordofan State.

The cattle at the Missiriya represent a means of showing pride and pride, and the shrine of men is measured by them and their position in councils, so these animals remained until recently a sacred place for their owners and are sold only in cases of extreme necessity, as they are not an economic source as much as they constitute a social aspect.

Social status
The owner of the cows is described as a rich man who is expanded in the councils and greatly appreciated and respected by the tribe, especially when he contributes to the payment of the “breach” - the local term for the religion that is a common practice in the Missiriya homes - where the people of the dead from quarreling or tribal disputes are compensated with money contributed by the tribe About her father's reel.

It is estimated that the area of ​​natural pastures in the Missiriya homes in Sudan is 114 thousand square kilometers, and it lies within the rich savanna area west and south of Kordofan, and the rainfall ranges between 250 and a thousand millimeters per year.

The Misseriya, who number about two million, belong to a group of tribes, including: "Baggara" - in relation to cows - which are pastoral tribes inhabiting the Kordofan regions in central and western Sudan.

The researcher in the culture and heritage of the Missiriya tribe, Abd al-Wakil al-Hajj, said that the Missiriya belonged historically to the Arabs of Juhayna, and they are one of the branches of the Himyar tribe that lived in the Arabian Peninsula in the pre-Islamic era, but it is not known exactly how they reached these areas in Africa.

Some historical accounts speak of the entry of a first group that headed to Egypt, while the second one went to Tunisia and crossed it into the Sahara Desert south into the African depth.

Abdel-Wakeel explained during his talk to Al-Jazeera Net that the residents of the Missiriya tribe are divided into two branches, a branch called the Misseriya Missouri who are Hamid al-Ahmar's children, who in turn are divided into Al-Felaitah and Al-Ajayra, and another branch called the Missiriya of Zarqa, who are the sons of Hamid al-Azraq and from the stomachs of Alawneh, Al-Ainat and Al-Dirhamat.

Hardship and fears
For his part, Issa Idris Dhako, who specializes in the customs and traditions of the Al-Missiriya tribe, spoke to Al-Jazeera Net about the journey of searching for water, grass and pasture, which is locally called the summer vacation. With the winter season from November and continuing until June.

The dangers and horrors faced by the Missiriya shepherds in the summer trip to the south push the family paradox for eight months, and Taher Al-Hajj - from the herdsmen who go their cattle south to the South of Sudan - says in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that they are suffering a great deal on the summer vacation by paying taxes when they cross the border, In light of the difference in currencies, they are forced to exchange food supplies for tiger hides and others.

Rahima Yaqoub Al-Asil complains that the shepherds are suffering on their journey, and he said that many problems occur during the return trip due to the frictions that occur between the herders and farmers due to the narrow path due to the oil drilling operations, which negatively affected the slow movement of cows and affected their health. Because of hunger and thirst, which causes dozens of them to die and the rest to reach their areas exhausting and sick.