Cattle of the Ages by Cyril Ramaphosa, photographs by Daniel Naude
ISBN: 9781431425815
Jacana Media; None edition (July 2, 2018)
Hard Cover, DJ, 192 pages
This book is a narrative and pictorial celebration of the Ankole, the most magnificent breed of cattle in the world. In this majestic book, Cyril Ramaphosa reveals his passion and love for cattle as he introduces us to the magnificent Ankole cattle, originating in Uganda, and now, through his intervention, flourishing in South Africa. He reflects on the legacy bequeathed him by his father, Samuel Mundzhedzi Ramaphosa, who had to leave behind his cattle herd in Venda to find work in Johannesburg. Life in the city was tough and demanding, weakening Samuel’s links with his ancestral origins and causing the loss of his herd. The love of cattle runs deep in South Africans and Cyril is fulfilling his father’s legacy, instilling a new pride for South Africans with these remarkable cattle.
Daniel Naudé has had solo exhibitions at Stevenson Cape Town and Johannesburg (2010, 2011 and 2014), and showed selected photographs from his book Animal Farm (Prestel, 2012) in the print room at The Photographers’ Gallery in London in 2013. His second book, Sightings of the Sacred: Cattle in Uganda, Madagascar and India, was published by Prestel in 2016. Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa was elected deputy president of the African National Congress (ANC) in 2012. He obtained a law degree from the University of South Africa and was elected secretary-general of the ANC after its unbanning in 1991 at the same time as Nelson Mandela was elected its president. He was the chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly, which drafted South Africa’s world-renowned constitution.