It has been three days since the rat snuck out and the ox firmly pulled itself in.
No fanfare, little fireworks just a steady walk in with a low bellow to make its entrance.
The second animal of the Chinese zodiac, the ox symbolises strength, dependability, confidence, power, fertility, determination and stubbornness.
People born under this zodiac are believed to exhibit these traits.
For obvious reasons, the ox is also used as a mascot for many sports teams.
Interestingly, the term ox and bull is often used interchangeably although there are slight differences between the two.
A bull is an adult male of the species Bos taurus.
An ox (called bullock in India and Australia) is a castrated bull that is used as a draught animal for agriculture and transportation.
Historically, bulls were castrated to prevent propagation of inferior genetics and to make them easier to control.
Thus, the ox is more “domesticated” in that sense.
The bulls that are left in their natural state are more muscular and aggressive, and used as stud animals to mate with females (the cow) and maintain population numbers.
Top performing bulls can impregnate up to six to eight cows per day!
Besides playing a significant role in beef ranching and dairy farming, these cattle animals are revered in some communities.
Their offal (internal organs), byproducts and excrement also provide health and other benefits to mankind.
We take a look at some of the lesser known ones here.
Oxtail is the culinary name for the tail of cattle, although nowadays, the tail is mostly obtained from the cow (rather than the ox) to make oxtail soup.
The average tail of an ox weighs anywhere from one to two kilogrammes before it is skinned and cut up into small sections.
Oxtail is rich in protein and is a good source of iron, as it contains 3.6mg of iron per 100g serving in a soup.
This amount is one-fifth of the daily requirement for a 2,000-calorie diet.
It also contains trace amounts of calcium, with 10mg of calcium in a 100g serving.
The nutrient content of oxtail soup can be further increased by adding an assortment of vegetables into the broth.
For the Chinese, ingredients such as beef tripe, bull intestine, ox tail and cow tongue are transformed into amazing delicacies through the magic of hot pots.
In Jamaica, oxtail was once considered a poor man’s food because it is the less desirable part of the cattle and takes too long to cook.
To survive, the poor man had to find creative ways to use the oxtail and turn it into a delicacy.Oxtails have high gelatine content and must be cooked slowly over low fire.
Today, because it takes time to prepare the dish, oxtail is an expensive, but much loved delicacy in the Caribbean island, and is eaten with rice and peas.
And with some reggae tunes from Bob Marley in the background, perhaps.
According to the China-based Global Times newspaper, ox aorta is one ingredient that comes highly recommended when it comes to enjoying hot pots.
Known as huanghou in Mandarin (yellow throat), the ox aorta looks like a piece of smooth, white jade.
As the largest artery in the body responsible for transporting blood from the heart to the rest of the body, the aorta has to handle a lot of pressure and is therefore extremely strong.
Hence, the texture of huanghou is chewy, tough and gives the jaw a pretty good workout.
On its own, this offal doesn’t have much flavour, so it depends heavily on sauce and spicy broth for added taste.
Pair this broth with some rice and vegetables to create a balanced, nutritious, hot meal.
Soup Number Five or Sup Torpedo is a delicacy that is widely available in local hawker stalls and Muslim restaurants.
It apparently originated from the Philippines and is a soup made from the bull’s testes or penis.
In Malaysia, it is eaten with Bengali bread that is dipped into the soup.
There is no data on its nutritional value, but it is widely believed to have aphrodisiacal properties.
Men like to consume this thinking it will enhance their sexual prowess so that they can be as “powerful” as the bull.
Gordon Ramsay once tried it and commented that the soup was “very spicy” and likened it to an oxtail “but with a soft bone inside”.
He refused to say whether it improved his performance in the bedroom!
Bulls bred for bullfighting are treated like kings – they are grass-fed, live in spacious fields and are particularly well taken care of.
And because they are healthier and happier, their meat is tastier and more pricey.
A bullfight almost always ends with the matador killing off the bull with his sword.
Rarely does the bull have a chance to defend itself, much less survive, although bullfight advertisers claim the fights are festive, artistic and fair competition bet-ween skill and force.
Many former bullfighters have admitted that the bull is intentionally debilitated with tranquilisers and laxatives beforehand.
It is beaten, has petroleum jelly rubbed into its eyes to blur vision, has heavy weights hung around its neck for weeks before the fight, and is confined in darkness for hours before being released into the bright arena.
Basically, the animal is tortured.
Once killed, the lifeless body is dragged out of the ring and processed at a slaughterhouse.
The meat is then distributed to vendors, who offer this prized item on their restaurant menus.
It becomes part of the season: watching the bullfights, then eating the bull meat.
So, when our borders finally open and you find yourself in Spain or Mexico, spare a thought for these poor bulls and refrain from eating their meat, no matter how mouth-watering it might be.
Hindus believe that the cow is a sacred animal and should therefore be protected and venerated, not slaughtered.
Cows are believed to represent mother earth, as they are a source of goodness – their milk nourishes all creatures.
In the Vedas, the oldest of the Hindu scriptures, the cow is associated with Aditi, the mother of all the gods.
In Ayurveda, cow urine or komiyam is considered to be the elixir of life as it is a natural source of many minerals required by the human body.
Back then, cows grazed naturally in the fields and fed mainly on grass and medicinal leaves, which were excreted via the urine and dung.
The urine of a pregnant cow is considered especially good and it is claimed that it contains special hormones and minerals to cure certain ailments.
Since cow urine is “pure”, its consumption for therapeutic purposes has a long history in Indian culture, but this has not been backed by science.
However, cow urine can be used for other, non-edible purposes.
According to South Indian tradition, a cow must always be the first visitor to a new home during a housewarming ritual in order to bless the new home and remove any unwanted negative energy.
It is led around the house, covering all spaces and corners.
If the cow pees or poos in the house, all the better as these are signs that the home owner will enjoy much prosperity.
To complete the ritual and offer thanks, the home owner will then put a flower garland around the cow’s neck before the four-legged animal is escorted out.
Following the housewarming, the property should be occupied right away, as it is inauspicious to leave the house empty again after the elaborate rituals have been conducted. In urban areas, however, it is not possible to cart the cow over (although there are cow rental services offered for such purposes), so Hindu homeowners purchase the cow urine (yes, it’s available online) and sprinkle it around the home to “spiritually cleanse” the place.
In agriculture, one of the uses of cow urine is as a soil enhancer.
A 2015 study on the Efficacy of Cow Urine as Plant Growth Enhancer and Antifungal Agent published in the journal Advances in Agriculture revealed that cow urine can be used as a biopesticide as it provides a better alternative to synthetic chemicals, which are expensive and pose potential danger to the farmers, marketers, consumers and the environment.
Fresh cow poo does not actually smell bad, but manure is food to bacteria, which produce odours as a byproduct of their digestion.
When dried, the dung loses its objectionable odour.
Smelly or otherwise, cow manure is used as a rich fertiliser, an efficient fuel and biogas producer, a useful building material and raw material for paper-making.
It contains the three main plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are released to plants at a moderate speed after fertilisation.
Fresh cow manure with bedding or litter has sizeable water content and is therefore beneficial as it helps to keep soil evenly moist throughout the growing season.
Besides increasing the mineral status of soil, cow dung also enhances the resistance of plants against pests and diseases; and stimulates plant growth.
In village houses in rural India, cow dung is used to pave floors or as a cheap thermal insulator to line the walls during the winter months.
Cow dung also makes an excellent fuel.
In some cultures, it is routinely collected and dried for this purpose, sometimes after being mixed with straw.
The pieces of dung are lit to provide heat and a flame for cooking.
If you’re a practising Hindu and didn’t know it, vibuthi or holy ash is made from dried cow dung cakes.
The dung – sourced only from the native breed of cows – is shaped into flat circular cakes with holes at the centre and dried in the sun.
An elaborate process, it takes a team of devoted volunteers to do it.
Originally, yogis used the ash they picked up from cremation grounds before cow dung was used as an alternative.
These days, much of the vibuthi is no longer pure as it is mixed with other ingredients such as rice husk.
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