Fulani Migration

A short story about the migration of nomadic pastoralists in Northern Nigeria.

He takes his whole clan:
The bulls, proud and forward,
And cows, a harem of them,
The sheep and goats follow
Like shrubs in a forest of beasts,
Then clan dogs and chickens.

Children and feeble old women
And young pregnant wives
Ride the backs of broad cows,
Tall men, slender and weather-beaten,
And boys ripening to men
Constitute the vigilante band.

Through savannahs and forests,
Over hills and drying rivers,
Day and night they migrate,
Following wherever pastures bid,
Caring little for ease and comfort,
Living and moving for their cattle.