The cattle and buffalo fought, and the cattle won.
“You must change your appearance,” the cattle decreed, “so everyone will see you aren’t cattle. Your horns must spread farther apart and your hooves must change their shape so no one will mistake our footprints. You will live in the wild and eat wild grass, while we will live in the villages of the people and eat in their pastures, giving them our milk in exchange.”
Now, because of cattle, there is war among humans.
Without cattle, there would be no war, because nobody would ever fight a war over buffalo.
[a Chok story from Kenya]
Inspired by: " The Origin of War" in The Suk: Their Language and Folklore by Mervyn W. H. Beech, 1911.
Notes: You can read the original story online. Beech conducted his research in the Baringo district of Kenya; you can find out more about the Suk/Chok people at Wikipedia.
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