Nguni
(most common name)
(transboundary/brand name)

(local/other name):
• Swazi
• Zulu
local/other name:
• Landim (Mozambique)
• N’guni (Angola)
• Sul do Save (Mozambique)

The Nguni is found in Swaziland (officially the Kingdom of Eswatini) and South Africa. (Eswatini is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and by South Africa to its north, west, and south.)

The Nguni people are a group of pastoral ethnicities thought to have entered southern Africa in a series of migrations beginning around 2000 years ago. Nguni cattle consists of several strains of southeast coastal African cattle that probably originated from taurine-zebu crosses made in northeastern Africa.

In 1947, the name ‘Nguni’ became official for all east coast South African cattle strains. Types known include:
• Bavenda (or Sibasa) - of the former Northern Transvaal, Venda and Ciskei
• Kashibi - from Kavango in Namibia
• Landim - in Mozambique
• Nkone - in Ciskei
• Pedi (or Bapedi) - in Eastern Transvaal
• Pondo
• Shangaan (or Shangan) - in Gazankulu
• Swazi - in Eswatini (Swaziland) and no longer recognized
• Zulu - in Eswatini (Swaziland) and still recognized

The hypothesis that Nguni are the result of successive north-to-south colonizations (Horsburgh et al., 2013) is supported by mitochondrial DNA studies. Nguni patrilineage, deduced from a Y chromosome microsatellite locus, is exclusively taurine.

The Nguni typically has lyre-shaped horns; polled animals are also common. The well developed hump of the bulls is cervicothoracic (of sanga form); humps are not noticeable in the cows.

Nguni coat colors include:
• white
• black
• brown
• red
• dun
• yellow

Nguni coat patterns include:
• solid colors
• various combinations (including brindle)

This page was last updated on: 2024-01-26

You can also go to:

My Daily Cow® South Africa and Eswatini (Swaziland) and read about other South African and Swazi cattle breeds.

The Cow Wall® A-Z Cattle Breed Picture Reference to see other breeds of cattle in the world.