The Ox in Asian Cultures
An ox is an adult bull that has been neutered and trained as a draft
animal.
The Ox in Asian Cultures
aurochs
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banteng
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yak
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water buffalo
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Definitions and Classification
Strictly speaking, oxen are large, heavyset breeds of cattle (Bos taurus) that have been trained as draft animals. However, other bovid animals have been domesticated to perform that role in various cultures, the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) for example, and it is the broader sense that is intended here.
A few definitions are in order to avoid confusion. Both bovid and bovine come from Latin (bōs = ox, cow). The former is a member of the family Bovidae, which includes hoofed, hollow-horned ruminants such as cattle, sheep, goats, and buffaloes; the latter refers more specifically to the various domesticated species of the genus Bos that are generally called cattle. The word cattle is plural, and there is no singular form for it, although cow is commonly used. It comes from Latin (caput = head), so the expression "head of cattle" to refer to the individuals in a herd is an apt one. The origin of ox, and the plural form oxen, is by way of the Old English (oxa = ox) from the Old High German (ohso = aurochs.)
Here is the classification scheme for domestic cattle (Bos taurus) to illustrate the terminology.
Kingdom : Animalia = organisms that are muticellular, self-propelled, and feed on other organisms, eg. jellyfish, earthworm, octopus, scorpion, sea urchin, whale
Phylum : Chordata = animals that have backbones, eg. shark, bass, frog, lizard, owl, chimpanzee
Class : Mammalia = chordates that have hair and nourish their young with mammary glands, eg. platypus, opossum, gorilla
Order : Artiodactyla = mammals that have hooves and an even number of toes, eg. pigs, camels, deer, giraffes, hippopotamuses
Family : Bovidae = ungulates that have hollow horns, four-chambered stomachs, and four toes, but walk on two (the hooves), eg. cattle, sheep, goats, antelopes, buffaloes
Genus : Bos = bovids that graze, have long tongues, and large teeth, eg. wild cattle (aurochs, gaur, kouprey) and domesticated cattle (yak, gayal, zebu)
Species : taurus : domesticated cattle breeds, eg. Texas Longhorns, Brahmas, Charolais, Jersey, Simmental, Yanbian
Types and Characteristics
| common name
| scientific name
| habitat and distribution
| unusual facts |
| anoa
| Bubalus depressicornis = lowland
Bubalus quarlesi = mountain
| undisturbed rainforests on the islands of Sulawesi and Butung in Indonesia
| They are the most diminutive of all wild cattle and are essentially miniature water buffalo. They live singly or in pairs, rather than herds. |
| aurochs
| Bos primigenius
| migrations from India resulted in three subspecies that populated Asia, north Africa, and Europe
| The aurochs had several features rarely seen in modern cattle, such as lyre-shaped horns set at a forward angle and sexual dimorphism of coat color. It became extinct in 1627. |
| banteng
| Bos javanicus
| sparse forests of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Borneo, Java, and Bali
| Usually diurnal, they adopt a nocturnal habit where humans are common. They live in herds of two to thirty members. It was never bred for a specific purpose and because of that it has no major economic value. It is used for field work and riding. Milk utility is low, but the meat has excellent quality and taste. The banteng is the second endangered species to be successfully cloned. |
| gaur
| Bos gaurus
| woodlands interspersed with clearings in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
| They live in small herds of up to forty members. The gaur is the first endangered species to be successfully cloned. |
| gayal
| Bos frontalis
| domesticated in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam
| The domestic gayal is probably a hybrid of the gaur and cattle. It is used for field work or its meat, but its milk is not drinkable. The gayal was used by many people as a sacrificial animal or as currency. |
| kouprey
| Bos sauveli
| partially forested hills of northern Cambodia, southern Laos, western Vietnam, and eastern Thailand
| The kouprey, also known as the gray ox, is a very large bovine that was discovered in 1937. It lives in herds of up to twenty members, generally consisting of only cows and calves. The kouprey went through an early form of domestication and then ran wild again. |
| muskox
| Ovibos moschatus
| Arctic areas of Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and the Taymyr peninsula of Siberia
| Muskoxen have a distinctive defensive behavior; the bulls and cows will face outward to form a stationary ring around the calves. Muskox wool, or qiviut is highly prized for its softness, length, and insulative value. Males emit a strong musky odor during mating season. |
| saola
| Pseudoryx nghetinhensis
| forests of Vietnam and Laos
| The saola, also known as the Vu Quang ox, is a relative of the antelope and has only been known to zoologists since 1992. This rare animal --only eleven individuals have been recorded alive-- was known initially from unusual horns obtained in Vietnam. They mark their territories with a musky, pungent paste produced in large scent glands located on the snout. |
| steppe wisent
| Bison priscus
| steppes throughout Europe, Central Asia, and North America
| This extinct bison species originated in South Asia and was a contemporary of the aurochs, with which its descendants are sometimes confused. The steppe wisent and the aurochs both occasionally appear in cave art. |
| tamaraw
| Bubalus mindorensis
| tropical highland forests near open glades on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines
| It is the largest native terrestrial mammal in the Philippines. They are solitary animals as adults. |
| water buffalo
| Bubalus arnee = wild
Bubalus bubalis = domestic
| marshy river-bottoms in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar
| The water buffalo has almost no oil or sweat glands in its skin and cannot endure hard work in the sun for a long period unless it wallows in mud or water. The purest breed of wild buffalo is found in India and has 50 chromosomes. The swamp buffalo is found in the eastern half of Asia and has 48 chromosomes. The river buffalo is found in the western half of Asia and has 50 chromosomes. |
| yak
| Bos grunnien
| treeless mountains and plateaus of Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia
| Yaks grunt, and unlike cattle are not known to produce the characteristic bovine lowing sound. They secrete a special sticky substance in their sweat which helps keep their under-hair matted and acts as extra insulation. |
| zebu
| Bos primigenius indicus
| the Indus valley and throughout Asia except Japan, Korea, and Mongolia, where the cattle are taurine
| Zebu, or indicus cattle, have humps on the shoulders, large dewlaps, and droopy ears. They have more sweat glands than humpless, taurine cattle and are better adapted to hot environments. They also have pest resistances not seen in European cattle. |
Uses and Products
There is an old Korean expression that says it all: "There is nothing to waste from an ox except for the yawns.'' Although various cultures have domesticated the ox to use in a variety of ways, it chiefly serves as a draft animal. Whether pulling a plow, a cart, or a wagon, its strength surpasses that of the horse or the mule. Its broad feet enable it to plow rice paddies and muddy fields where other animals are useless. The ox cart, or bullock wagon, was a common means of transportation for people and goods in many parts of the ancient world. It is still used today where the economy or the infrastructure do not favor other means. The driver and any other passengers sit on the front of the cart, while the cargo, usually agrarian products or lumber, is loaded in the back. The ox team responds to the verbal commands of the teamster rather than reins or a bridle. Additional uses of the ox include carrying loads or riders on their backs, threshing grain by trampling it, turning mill stones, and operating irrigation pumps, or noria.
Depending upon the dietary habits and religious beliefs of various cultures, the ox has been valued for its meat for consumption; milk for butter, yogurt, and cheese; hair for fibers to make yarn, ropes, and rugs; hide for leather to make shoes, bags, and boats; horn, hooves, and bones for jewelry, tools, and other implements; dung for fuel and fertilizer; and other products and purposes. For example, the secretion in yak sweat is used in traditional Nepalese medicine. The butter made from yak milk is used to fortify tea, to burn in lamps, and to create sculptures used in religious festivities. In Hindu majority nations like India and Nepal, where the cow is sacred, bovine milk and products like ghee hold a central place in religious rituals. Mozzarella cheese was once made only from water buffalo milk.
Yanbian
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gayal
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kouprey
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zebu
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Annotated On-Line Sources
anoa : These miniature water buffalo consist of two species, the mountain anoa and the lowland anoa.
aurochs : The aurochs, ancestor of all modern cattle, was far larger than most modern cattle and had a very aggressive temperament.
banteng : This species of wild cattle, also known as Bali cattle, is native to Southeast Asia.
cow : The domestic cow occurs as a number of distinct breeds developed for dairy and beef products.
gaur : The gaur is the largest, heaviest, and most powerful of all wild cattle and is found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
gayal : The gayal is probably a domestic gaur-cattle hybrid, but the wild group and the domestic group are sometimes considered separate species.
kouprey : The kouprey occupies a special place among cattle, for it may be the last surviving form of the wild ox, which went through an early form of domestication and then ran wild again.
muskox : The muskox is more closely related to sheep and goats than to oxen, but is in its own bovid genus, Ovibos.
saola : The saola occurs in the steep river valleys and moist forests of eastern Indochina.
steppe wisent : The steppe wisent, an extinct bison species that originated in South Asia, was replaced in Europe by the modern wisent and in America by the American bison.
tamaraw : The tamaraw is a rare mammal that is endemic on a relatively secluded island, and its ecology is largely unstudied and unrecorded.
water buffalo : Some authorities believe that the river buffalo, the swamp buffalo (carabao), and the wild buffalo are a single species; others regard them as separate species and cite the difference in chromosome number as evidence.
yak : The yak, domesticated in Tibet from 3000 to 1000 BC, is an indispensible helper for the mountain inhabitants and the basic source of their livelihood.
zebu : The zebu, containing some 75 known breeds, is better adapted to tropical environments than the other domestic cattle types.
images of various oxen courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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Bibliotheca
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Featured February 1 , 2009
