#inyambo

Holy beans my amazing friend did a reference sheet for one of my fursonas and I'm so incredibly grateful/happy right now! This was based off a sculpture I made because I am not skilled with illustration, and the translation is fabutastic augh! She even got the galaxy dipped in gold look I wanted!

Kind of .......strange......., but who am I to judge?:

Excerpt from this story from The Revelator:

Visitors to the King’s Palace Museum in Rwanda can locate the nation’s prized cows by following the sounds of singing.

Called Inyambo in Rwanda and Bihogo in Uganda, these massive cattle are known for the white, symmetrical horns that stretch into the air several feet above their heads. They’re bred for ceremonial purposes — not milk or meat, like most cattle. The museum’s herd of 15 cows, each adorned in jewelry and ribbons, stand as symbols of their longstanding significance in Rwandan culture and history.

With crooning shepherds living on site at the museum full time and a dedicated veterinarian on call 24 hours a day, these cows have the best possible care. But, like many rare livestock breeds around the world, they face challenges to their survival, including climate change, habitat erosion, disease, and international conflicts. The United Nations estimates that at least 17% of worldwide livestock breeds are threatened with extinction, and it advocates for preserving genetic lines that may have a better chance of survival in a warming, pandemic-prone world.

Conserving culturally important breeds like the Inyambo in the face of these threats presents its own set of challenges. Planning for their future starts with understanding their past — as well as their present place in Rwandan culture.

It also requires answering a tricky question: Are Inyambo an endangered species?

There are no monarchs in Rwanda anymore. Rwanda’s monarchy ended in 1962, when the country gained independence from Belgium. The King’s Palace Museum is a recreation of the last site of the formerly mobile monarchy, which previously moved around the country before settling in Nyanza in 1899 and establishing it as the first permanent capital of the kingdom.

The Inyambo — who roamed with the ruler until they, too, came to settle in Nyanza — are a subset of the long-horned Ankole, a breed of cattle found in Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. The Ankole themselves are a subset of Sanga cattle, indigenous breeds from southern Africa.

During the period of the traditional Rwandan monarchy, Inyambo were bred and trained for royal parades. They would be presented as dignitaries during ceremonies honoring the king.