Herding Cattle

Herding Cattle

This article was written on July 27, 2013.

Author: Lü Jianfeng

My little friends and I were astonished.

About herding cattle.

In my childhood hometown, cattle were very precious. The food we ate was grown by ourselves, and plowing fields and pulling carts all depended on cattle. I vaguely remember encountering several adult marriage proposals where it was mentioned that the man's family had cattle. If it was a water buffalo, the tone would be louder when saying it. This shows how important cattle were in our rural area.

Water buffalo and yellow cattle were the two common types in our area. I had never seen a third type. Yellow cattle have nothing to do with the current ticket scalpers (yellow cattle). Yellow cattle are mostly reddish-brown, while water buffalo are black. Yellow cattle are slightly smaller than water buffalo. Water buffalo are stronger and have a bigger temper than yellow cattle. Water buffalo often fight, but I have never seen yellow cattle fight. It seems water buffalo don't bully yellow cattle either.

Each family raised their own cattle. During the busy farming season, when cattle were not working, they were placed around the fields to eat grass, and after returning home, they were fed rice straw. During the slack season, we children had an important task: to get up early and herd the cattle. In the morning, there was dew, and the grass was fresh, which cattle preferred. Early in the morning, we would lead our own cattle, usually a group of more than ten children, and go up the mountain in a mighty procession. Each cow was separated by about ten meters, and we would loosen the rope to let the cow eat on its own. We children would gather and start playing. I remember once, a child picked a leaf from a tree, half-rolled it, put it to his mouth, and melodious singing floated everywhere. My little friends and I were astonished. We all gathered around him, looking at him with admiration and amazement as he blew. When he stopped, we went to pick leaves and asked him for advice. Later, blowing leaves became a must-do when herding cattle. A few years later, only a few could make a sound, and only one child learned to play a tune. I couldn't even make a sound for several years.

Water buffalo are more violent and often fight together. Once, while we were playing in a group, we heard cattle bellowing. We saw two buffalo charging at each other while bellowing. Nearby water buffalo also joined the fight, bellowing. Dozens of horns clashed together, and heads collided with loud bangs. My little friends and I were astonished. We didn't know what to do and didn't dare go forward. One clever child ran down the mountain to call for adults. Soon the adults came and used long sticks with torches to separate the buffalo.

I must talk about riding cattle. We all knew how to ride cattle. The most skilled child in our village could stand on the cow's back, playing a short flute, and let the cow carry him home swaying. I was also clumsy; my highest level was sitting astride the cow's back, using a whip to make it run forward. I never learned to stand. But I had a unique skill: our old sow, after much training from me, I could finally ride it around. None of the other children in our village could do that. My little friends were astonished, and I was very proud.

At the age of eleven, I went to a town eight miles away for junior high school. Classes were held six and a half days a week, so I couldn't herd cattle anymore. Later, the village organized group herding, where each family took turns herding all the cattle together up the mountain. There wasn't much fun in herding cattle then.