Goats with Aprons? A traditional anti-mating innovation used by Maasai communities in Tanzania

Details: East Africa; 23 September 2024; 206

Rangeland management is essential for the sustainability of pastoralism, and the CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate is advancing innovations to improve management practices. Effective management extends beyond soil and plant health to also include livestock breeding practices.

Pastoralists have developed different ways to ensure that livestock are born in sustainable numbers and at the most favorable times for their survival. While some practices, like using colored markers to track sire-female pairings for lineage improvement are relatively new, others such as anti-mating aprons and herding male and female animals separately, have been used for millennia.

For Oldeede Papayai, a 53-year-old Maasai pastoralist from Partimbo village in Kiteto district, Tanzania, the use of anti-mating aprons is a simple yet effective tool that supports both livestock management and cultural traditions. After inheriting 50 cattle and 100 sheep and goats from his late father, Papayai now oversees a thriving herd of 300 cattle and 270 sheep and goats. Before retiring from warriorhood, he served as a traditional leader (alaigwanani) for his age set, which enriched his deep knowledge of Maasai culture and traditions.

Among the practices that Papayai continues to uphold is the use of anti-mating aprons for sheep and goats. This traditional tool helps prevent unplanned breeding, contributing to overall sustainability of his livestock management practices.

“We always plan for mating of sheep and goats so that kidding and lambing occur during the months when there is no shortage of grazing resources and no disease outbreak for the young, typically in December and January at the beginning of the rainy season,” explains Papayai. “During this time, the mothers can produce enough milk to nourish their offspring.”

The anti-mating apron, locally made from either plastic or cattle hide, is designed to be securely fit around the heart girth of a male goat or sheep. This prevents penetration during mating, ensuring that ejaculation does not result in conception. By controlling when mating occurs, pastoralists can better manage their flocks’ health and productivity. However, according to Maasai culture, using the anti-mating apron for cattle bulls is strictly prohibited.

This stems from a belief in free bull service, ensuring that even the poorest pastoralists, who may not own a bull, have access to breeding services. Imposing an apron on a bull is considered immoral and sinful, as it denies others access to the bull’s service. Violating this norm is believed to bring disaster and misfortune upon the violator and their family.

The use of the anti-mating apron is permitted for sheep and goats for several practical reasons. Firstly, acquiring a male goat or sheep for breeding is relatively inexpensive, and even poorer pastoralists can often borrow or receive one for free. Secondly, synchronizing births (kidding and lambing) is simpler with sheep and goats due to the high libido of male sheep and goats. Finally, planning births during the rainy seasons ensures that newborns receive adequate nutrition from the plentiful milk their mothers produce during this period.

Simple and effective practices such as the anti-mating aprons, can also be upscaled through farmer-farmer networks, which enable pastoralists to share knowledge and innovations. ‘Pastoralists already employing the anti-mating aprons are the practical peer reviewers that agricultural research for development needs to better support,’ said Birgit Habermann, ILRI scientist and lead of Livestock and Climate’s pioneering work on farmer-to-farmer networks and positive deviance.

By combining cultural knowledge with practical breeding techniques, Papayai and other Maasai pastoralists like him continue to sustain their way of life while ensuring the health and productivity of their herds. The Livestock and Climate Initiative continues to support such innovation integrated into improved rangeland management practices.

Banner photo: Mr. Oldeede Papayai explaining the use of anti-mating apron for sheep and goats. Photo By Birikaa Olesikilal/ILRI. Story by Birikaa Olesikilal and Madison Spinelli. CGIAR