The Big 5 Animals and African Cultures

Explore the fascinating role of the Big 5 animals in African cultures for more insight into these famous creatures and African tribes.

Anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss famously said that “animals are good to think with”. We often use animals as symbols to explain the relationships between people and the world. Certain animals have physical attributes and behaviours that strike us deeply. None more so than the Big 5 animals–all of which are large, powerful and dangerous. The Big 5 African animals have played a central role in the religions, cultures and mythologies of African tribes for thousands of years...

Maasai culture and the lion hunt

Lions have always been associated with courage, power and nobility. Anyone who has slept in the bush knows that when you hear a lion roar, it is unquestionably the king of its domain; even if you are safe in a lodge, you still quiver in your bed. These associations extend beyond Africa, and fascination with this mighty beast continues in songs such as When the Lion Sleeps and productions like The Lion King.

One of the most widely known tribal rituals featuring lions is the Maasai rite of passage. In this ritual boys who wish to become men have to kill, using only spears, Africa’s apex predator. The Maasai were pastoralists, and lions were understandably seen as a threat to their most valuable possessions, their cattle. Hunting a lion on your own is extremely dangerous, especially if the lion is not out in the open savannah. This risky practice was made marginally safer in later years when the hunt was more often carried out by a group of young men, which helped to conserve the lion population.

Many brave youngsters lost life and limb in their quest to demonstrate their prowess and manhood. The stakes were high, however: the man who delivered the killing blow was revered and became the owner of the slain lion’s tail.

These days, with increased conservation awareness in Kenya, a new custom has been encouraged. Young Maasai warriors compete to see who can throw their spears the furthest, a safer and more humane ritual.

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Big 5 Buffalo in African cultures

African Buffalo are renowned for being fearless, standing together and taking on lions when threatened, and have thus become a symbol of unity and strength in many African tribes. They are probably the most forgotten of the Big 5 animals, but rank among the most dangerous, particularly the lone bulls, as they still kill around 200 people each year.

Buffalo may look a bit like cows, but over the centuries efforts by pastoralists to domesticate them have failed, as they are fickle and cantankerous. They can carry certain diseases that cattle can catch such as bovine tuberculosis, and have been devastated by domestic outbreaks of foot-and-mouth and rinderpest. Buffalos are thought to be cruel in many southern African tribes, as they will attack their adversary repeatedly – and then urinate on the wounds to check that they are dead.

The Zambian Bisa tribe believe that buffalos are not only powerful and dangerous, but they also have a strong spiritual force.

The Balete tribe of Botswana adopted the buffalo as their totem, symbolising their army’s strength and ability to stand united, which protected them in the past in times of conflict. Some myths tell of how the buffalo protected the Balete from Mzilikazi’s warriors in the time of the Mfecane, and thus the practice of eating buffalo meat is forbidden.

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Elephants and the Watha tribe

Beyond the most obvious trait of elephants — their size and strength — they are also associated with longevity, as they live almost as long as we do, and loyalty, as the bonds that tie them together, are exceptional. Because they are highly intelligent, they symbolise wisdom for many African tribes, particularly the Lukumai clan of the Samburu.

The Samburu have been instrumental in conserving the elephant population in the remote Milgis region of Kenya, where they work with the Kenya Wildlife Service to thwart poachers.

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It takes a very special kind of hunter to take down an elephant with just a bow and arrow, but the men of the Watha tribe were excellent at doing just that. The Watha lived on the border of Kenya and Ethiopia, and because they were a small tribe, competition with neighbouring tribes led them to become nomads, living by hunting rather than by raising livestock. Using poison arrows, huge bows, and possessing intimate knowledge of their prey, they were adept at bringing down Africa’s largest land animal. A single elephant could feed a small band of Watha for months, and every single part of it was traditionally used once it was slaughtered; the fat was particularly prized.

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Elephants are regarded as relatives of humans by the Watha: they have a myth that a husband who returned from hunting with only small animals made his wife so angry that she turned into an elephant, destroyed their hut and stormed off into the bush. Elephants were always honoured by the Watha, and today, because of their excellent tracking skills, many Watha tribesmen have been recruited as park rangers.

The mighty leopard in African cultures

In many African tribes, leopards are even more highly regarded than lions, due to their courage, cunning and immense strength. Thus, leopard skins are worn by the Zulu nobility and the warriors of the East African Karamajo and Acholi tribes. Engravings from the Benin empire in West Africa depict the leopard as the symbol of the king, rather than the lion.

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As leopards can adapt and survive almost anywhere they are associated with wisdom; and because they are nocturnal, they are often linked to the underworld and death, stretching back to the time of the ancient Egyptians.

Leopards were revered in the religions of many African tribes, and to this day the members of the Nazareth Baptist “Shembe” Church wear leopard skins as a sign of worship.

There have been several secret cults such as the Anyoto, known as the Leopard Men or Leopard Society that carried out grisly nocturnal murders with metal claws – frequently on their colonial rulers – in the Congo and West Africa, about 100 years ago. Rumoured to be cannibals, they sparked the European imagination and often appeared in popular literature, including Tarzan and Tintin.

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The Basimba are a tribe in Uganda whose name means “big lion” in Swahili. The kingdom of Buganda was established in the 14th century by 13 clans, among them the Leopard or Ngo clan, who were often captured and executed in later years, as they had royal blood and were perceived as a threat by the king. Nannono, a woman from the Ngo clan, once sat on Buganda’s throne, and after this the name Nabulya, meaning “I ate it” became part of the clan, to remind other clans that once they had ruled the roost.

At times, African tribal beliefs about the leopard can help to conserve it. In some Zulu clans, it is known as the “ingwe”, symbolising honour and nobility, and members of this clan are expected to honour the leopard by preserving its life and habitat. The Tachoni of Kenya are also forbidden to kill leopards, as it is part of their circumcision ritual and symbolises courage.

Big 5 rhino and African cultures

The rhinoceros is a symbol of strength in African folklore, but it is better known as a powerful protector symbol. This is because the rhino sometimes protects other species in times of danger, and they have been known to stamp out fires.

The rhino also symbolises authority: in the ruins of the ancient city of Mapungubwe in South Africa, gold rhino effigies made it clear that the black rhino symbolised sacred leadership in a society that was class-based. Rhino meat cut from the breast is traditionally kept for the chief in many tribes, and its horns and bones have also been used in Shona and Venda society for rainmaking rituals.

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The rhino is most closely revered by the Langi tribe of Uganda, who revere it as their totem animal. There were thousands of rhinos in the country until the 1970s, when the three-ton ungulate was hunted to extinction during the reign of Idi Amin, leaving the Langi with only memories of their sacred beast.

The story has a happy ending however, as rhinos were reintroduced to Uganda in 1987, mainly for tourism reasons, and their numbers have since grown, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Ready for a Big 5 Safari in Africa

The Big 5 animals are all keystone species, meaning that their presence has a major impact on the environments they inhabit.

They were once known as the five hardest animals to hunt on foot. But these days the most important role that lions, buffalos, leopards, elephants and rhinos play is as the stars of safaris in Africa, which keeps the continent’s game parks thriving. For more about where to see the Big 5 animals in Africa, see the Best Places for Big 5 Safaris in Africa.

Traditional beliefs and folk tales about these amazing animals deepen our connection with them and may help conserve these animals for the future.

Interested in going on a Big 5 safari in Africa? Contact African Budget Safaris today and talk to one of our experienced consultants about visiting Africa.