The Mundari: The tribe dying for their cows

By Thomas Page, for CNN

Updated 0955 GMT (1755 HKT) August 31, 2016

A Mundari man guards his precious Ankole-Watusi herd with a rifle. Photographer <a href="http://www.tariqzaidi.com/" target="_blank">Tariq Zaidi</a> visited the Mundari tribe in South Sudan twice in 2016 to document the lives of these fiercely protective herdsmen who face war, rustlers and landmines as they care for their animals.
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A Mundari man guards his precious Ankole-Watusi herd with a rifle. Photographer Tariq Zaidi visited the Mundari tribe in South Sudan twice in 2016 to document the lives of these fiercely protective herdsmen who face war, rustlers and landmines as they care for their animals.
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Dawn breaks over a Mundari cattle camp. The animals are the main source of sustenance for the nomadic tribe located on the banks of the Nile.
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Dawn breaks over a Mundari cattle camp. The animals are the main source of sustenance for the nomadic tribe located on the banks of the Nile.
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A Mundari man wakes up next to his animals and brushes his teeth with a stick. Tribesmen will often sleep with their cattle, and as close as two feet away from their most prized animal.
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A Mundari man wakes up next to his animals and brushes his teeth with a stick. Tribesmen will often sleep with their cattle, and as close as two feet away from their most prized animal.
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A Mundari girl helps a lamb to suckle on a cow's teat. It is not just the Mundari people who benefit from the cow's milk.
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A Mundari girl helps a lamb to suckle on a cow's teat. It is not just the Mundari people who benefit from the cow's milk.
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A Mundari boy drinks milk straight from the cow's udder.
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A Mundari boy drinks milk straight from the cow's udder.
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A young Mundari boy holds his precious Ankole-Watusi cow in the middle of the camp. When Zaidi visited, he estimated the camp had approximately 500 animals, whose value can reach up to $500 each.
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A young Mundari boy holds his precious Ankole-Watusi cow in the middle of the camp. When Zaidi visited, he estimated the camp had approximately 500 animals, whose value can reach up to $500 each.
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A Mundari man takes advantage of the purported antibacterial properties of the cow's urine. An extra benefit is that ammonia in the urine will dye his hair orange.
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A Mundari man takes advantage of the purported antibacterial properties of the cow's urine. An extra benefit is that ammonia in the urine will dye his hair orange.
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The Mundari encourage their cattle to cross the Nile to get to an island where they will graze for the next few months. Finding new pasture is problematic, due to the prevalence of landmines laid during the war.
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The Mundari encourage their cattle to cross the Nile to get to an island where they will graze for the next few months. Finding new pasture is problematic, due to the prevalence of landmines laid during the war.
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A Mundari man relaxes in the soft, peach-colored ash and dust of a dung fire. Zaidi says its consistency is close to that of talcum powder, and is applied to the skin as a means of sun protection.
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A Mundari man relaxes in the soft, peach-colored ash and dust of a dung fire. Zaidi says its consistency is close to that of talcum powder, and is applied to the skin as a means of sun protection.
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A Mundari woman with the ritual facial scarring, typical of the Mundari tribe, and covered in ash, a purported natural antiseptic which also protects the skin from insects.
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A Mundari woman with the ritual facial scarring, typical of the Mundari tribe, and covered in ash, a purported natural antiseptic which also protects the skin from insects.
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A Mundari woman clears the ground of sticks and dung before the cattle return home from the pastures. Women also milk the animals and look after the children.