[custom_adv] heir entire lifestyle is geared around caring for their prized livestock, the Ankole-Watusi, a horned breed known as “the cattle of kings.” [custom_adv] The relationship between man and beast and reports that “their guns are not to kill anyone but to protect their herd”. However but what happens when push comes to shove? [custom_adv] Rampant and persistent fights and killings have gradually become the major issues of the internal war they face which is slowly killing the tribe. [custom_adv] Though this act of bravery in the face of death proves and avows their ego, making these young men more attractive bachelors for the single ladies. [custom_adv] These cows grow up to eight feet tall, and are worth as much as each. It’s no wonder the Mundari view these animals as their most valuable assets (or that they guard them with with machine guns). [custom_adv] It has captured tribes and indigenous people from over 30 African nations, though he was nonetheless taken aback by the relationship between man and beast. [custom_adv] “These animals are treated like members of the family,” says Zaidi. “When the cattle return back from the pasture they know exactly where their masters are and where their home is – they are like dogs in that way. [custom_adv] Families will sleep with their animals, wash them in ash and make sure the ground is soft and clean for them.” [custom_adv] The Mundari treasure their herds of Ankole-Watusi, a sought-after breed known as ‘the cattle of kings’. [custom_adv] Their horns can reach 8ft and they decorate their biggest bulls with tassels. “Every Mundari man I met had his favourite cow,” says Zaidi. “It is his most prized possession and a reflection of himself.” [custom_adv] After cleaning his teeth with a stick, he lowers his head under a urinating cow, tethered to a post nearby. His impromptu shower will ward off infection and has the added benefit of dyeing his hair orange. [custom_adv] On the banks of the Nile, just north of the South Sudanese capital of Juba, dawn breaks on a Mundari cattle camp and a young man begins his morning ablutions.