Buffaloes were everywhere in the village I was born. They were mainly used by farmers to drag the wooden ploughs through the heavy soil in paddy fields.
The farmer guided them from behind with little grunts, upon which the animals dutifully turned the soil or tugged even harder. Buffaloes were used in pairs. More than the rope harness, there was trust and understanding between the farmer and the animals. Most of the buffaloes did their duty without grumbling or running away.
Buffaloes were fascinating creatures, and I wanted to learn more about them. However, there was a shortage of scientific literature on them. After moving to the city, I learned many things about buffaloes born to serve man. In a way, the buffalo is the most impressive farm animal you will ever see on earth. With the industrialisation, buffaloes have been replaced by modern machines. As a result, there are many students attending city schools who have never seen a buffalo.
W. Ross Cockrill, a British veterinarian and livestock scientist, says, “Water buffaloes are highly intelligent.” According to him, buffaloes possess reasoning power and emotional response than any other farm animal. What is more, their loyalty is legendary. During World War II, allied soldiers were charged by enraged water buffaloes defending their master’s fields. It shows their close affinity with their owners. I have observed how buffaloes obey their master’s commands without making any protest.
Lumbering beasts
Until recent times, the lumbering beasts were honoured family members of the farming community. Chinese peasant women considered the buffalo more important than any other member of the family. The animals were used not only for dragging the plough but also to pull heavy carts, threshing grain and pumping water to fields. When buffaloes died in large numbers, certain Asian countries faced famine.
There are a lot of myths woven around the buffalo. A Chinese legend says the Emperor of Heaven sent a buffalo to earth to check how mankind was getting on. The emperor believed that the people should at least get one square meal every three days. However, the buffalo sent by the emperor had given a wrong message to the people. It said the emperor wanted the people to have three good meals a day. On hearing it, the emperor lost his cool and ordered the buffalo to stay on earth and work for man.
The buffalo is quite different from other species of cattle. It has strong pointed horns, a coarse skin and a massive body.
Although the buffalo is not an attractive animal, it is a gentle and genial soul. If you look at a herd of buffaloes, you will be struck by their serenity. If they are provoked, they will give out a nasty sound.
The buffalo likes to wallow in water because its sweat glands are few. Because of this, they were known as water buffaloes. You should see how they enjoy being in water for a long time. When it rains, they do not run for shelter. Instead they stand in the downpour with their eyes closed, body rigid with extreme pleasure.
The buffalo had been used in farming in the Indus Valley 5,000 years ago. Gradually, they were domesticated in most Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Domestic buffaloes are strong heavy animals. In certain parts of India, you find swamp buffaloes with their massive horns. The river buffaloes are mostly black or dark grey with drooping horns. In many Asian countries, buffalo milk is used to make ghee for cooking. They also produce curd from buffalo milk.
Small herds
Buffaloes are allowed to wander freely in villages. Sometimes small herds of buffaloes are found in towns and smaller cities in Asia. In India and Indonesia, buffaloes have been used as watchdogs because they fearlessly attack any stray animals including tigers.
However, buffaloes were not confined to the Asian region. They were found even in the Middle East, Europe and Italy.
In the middle ages, buffaloes helped Italy’s farming community. Some Italians realised buffaloes’ love for music during milking sessions. They played music to collect more milk from the animals. However, when the music ended they also stopped giving milk!
During the 19th and 20th centuries, buffaloes were shipped to Brazil and the country’s buffalo population increased in 2017. From Brazil, buffaloes started moving to Panama and Bolivia. In the 1970s, buffaloes arrived in the United States where they were hailed as a useful resource for the future.
According to the University of Florida researchers, water buffalo steaks have less cholesterol than those made out of beef. Even in Australia, researchers have found buffalo steaks better than beef steaks.
Most people, however, consider that buffaloes are too valuable as work animals to be sacrificed for their flesh. Nevertheless, the beef eaten in most Asian countries is actually the flesh of water buffaloes.
Although modern farmers are not willing to use buffaloes to drag the plough, they can work easily in deep mud than tractors.
Unlike modern tractors, buffaloes need no fuel, spare parts or drivers. Buffaloes are eco-friendly and they do not pollute the environment.
An agricultural research centre in Thailand has realised the value of buffaloes for farming and measures have been taken to save them from extinction. Even in India, a large number of buffaloes are fed and used in farming. Even in Sri Lanka, farmers can be encouraged to depend more on buffaloes than tractors.
An image of a mischievous child riding a buffalo in a village in Sri Lanka is etched in my mind. I saw him in the early part of the 1940s. When I visited the same village recently, I did not see any buffaloes, but there were air-polluting tractors on the fields.
