Contents Contact

Cattle and Thành Công Village

Buffalo, having eaten their fill on an island in the reservoir, swim back to the land Near the village tethered buffalo graze in considerable numbers To a western eye it is cattle that dominate the landscape around the village of Thành Công in the Thanh Hoá Province of northern Vietnam. Egrets often seem to feed where cattle graze Beyond the grazing cow a man ploughs with a buffalo Plough harness for the bull pictured below Cattle are bred to provide the 'horsepower' for the village. They all work for their living pulling carts and ploughing fields; also providing the main source of meat, although, as in other East Asian countries, no milk. A woman leading her bull home from work - slowly while it feeds Bovine comparison from Uttar Pradesh - in the scorching heat of northern India These two villages are of similar social organisation and status. But in India a halter holds the cattle, in Vietnam (see bottom image) the tether is through the nose. A difference that speaks volumes. A bull waits to move the cart seen behind him with the harness shown above Now harnessed, the bull stands while the cart is loaded with the sweet potatoes being lifted from the field... ...and starts the gentle creaking walk to the village. Behind in the fields sugar cane and sweet corn grow There seems little difference in the strength of buffaloes and cows for the work of ploughing, so the choice is a matter of individual taste - some preferring buffalo meat to beef! These two pictures and the one below show both beasts at work in neighbouring fields. However, buffaloes clearly relish water Bovine rivalry The evening sun shows that in fact buffaloes are hairy The work of supervising grazing mostly falls to children; a happy time if they can meet other herders and people Young buffalo scrap head to head like deer Buffalo Portraits Buffalo are photogenic: powerful, amazingly docile, doe eyed creatures Breeds vary just as with our cattle, these horns are exceptional Docile certainly, but of course a mother and her calf need their space By Thành Công Village But the last shot goes to the buffalo herself The next page moves to animals and their welfare in a very different climate. On the outskirts of Cairo Al Sorat Farm offers sanctuary for animals, education for people and a veterinary service.

Connections...

The last page was about the land around Thành Công village A page about Lũng Cú - the most northerly village in Vietnam Mã Pì Lèng Village Or go to the page
which was added one year ago.

Saturday 4th March 2017