With a Smile Towards Afrika!
The
Nguni cattle are coloured in a variety of patterns, of which there are over
a hundred colour combinations, all symmetrically patterned. 
Sabine
Piprek, who lives in the Eastern Cape province of South
Africa, has drawn a series of pictures depicting these African cattle in
expressionistic style. Each picture is complemented by a rhyming text, which
depicts the colour combination and links it to an appropriate context. Some
are linked to modern themes, such as the Football Cup in 2010 in South Africa
or the Freedom Day in May. Others lend themselves inspired to nature or
traditional themes. Did you know, for example, that UMHLOPHE, which means
“white“ in Zulu / Xhosa, traditionally goes to the Zulu King?
Colour the Cattle
Historically, colour combinations of Nguni cattle were noted in stories and praise-songs. Generally, each colour and pattern is described and named according to a motive in nature. For example: if a cow with red ears and sides is missed, the herdsman looks for ESOMI. Esomi is the Zulu (Xhosa) name for a Red-winged Starling. Or, that a light-coloured cow covered
Care for the cow who is my darling:
ESOMI in pitch or dark brown pack prowling.
Red ears at them are snapping and snarling,
red sides aflutter like a Red-winged Starling
© Sabine Piprek
in numerous red spots reflects the red coloured grain of sorghum used to make beer and therefore is named EMVUBOMAZIMBA – the Zulu (Xhosa) name for this sorghum maize.
In traditional Zulu (Xhosa) culture, these nature associated names assisted in “marking” the completeness of the heard, because the traditional headsman did not count, but “coloured” their cattle. This is why the series of drawings is called “Colour the Cattle”.
The inspiration for the series came from a list with 63 original Zulu
(Xhosa) names, which are accompanied by a description of the colour pattern
of the cattle. A farmer in the area had handed it over to the artist.
The main part of the series and rhymes are the result of a four month book
illustration workshop in Berlin – some were created in Poland and South
Africa. So you might say, that the drawings have African roots and trunk and
European leaves, which might form a bridge between cultures. Wouldn’t it be
nice to see (not only) the children of the world look with a smile towards
Africa and notice, that apart from lions, elephants and giraffes, there are
beautiful cattle to be coloured.