It is considered unlucky for a man to count his animals. He knows each animal in his herd by its color or the twist of its horns. A man with a lot of animals has a good standing in the community. The lives of herding peoples center around their livestock. Cattle are part of their origin stories.
Animals supply milk and food.
They are given as gifts in marriage ceremonies. In fact they play important parts in most ceremonies. Among the Pokot, a herding group in Kenya, a teenager will be given his own ox to raise. It is the beginning of the herd he hopes to have some day when he starts a family of his own. Before that he helps to tend his father's herd and in the process, learns all the important things he needs to know about raising animals.