Fat Tailed Sheep on Maps of Africa
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The Map Collector
The Map Collector, initiated by Peter Scott and Valerie G. Newby, was a journal on historical cartography published every quarter. The first issue appeared in 1997 and continued for nearly 20 years. After 74 issues the last copy appeared in Spring 1996. Mrs. Valerie G. Newby, is presently editor of the IMCoS Journal.www.imcos.org
By The Map Collector
Published on 1 June 1979
by I. Norwich
There is one particular animal illustrated on a number of maps of Africa in my own map collection which has always fascinated me - the fat tailed sheep. As Wilma George makes no specific mention of this unique anatomical and physiological feature of such fat tails on the sheep, these recorded descriptions could add to her researches.
There is one particular animal illustrated on a number of maps of Africa in my own map collection which has always fascinated me - the fat tailed sheep. As Wilma George makes no specific mention of this unique anatomical and physiological feature of such fat tails on the sheep, these recorded descriptions could add to her researches.
by L Norwich
This contribution was prompted by the article by Wilma George in our December issue 'Fauna of the Printed Map.' Mr Norwich, who is a map collector in South Africa and one of our readers, has always been fascinated by these 'fat tailed sheep' which appear on several eighteenth century maps and are known to be indigenous to Southern Africa from very early times.
MAP LOVERS AND collectors are indebted to Wilma George for her major contribution and original addition to the history of cartography in her book Animals and Maps, as a scientific evolution of map fauna. This book is a most erudite and useful source of reference in researching antique maps of the world as is her more recent article in The Map Collector, (December 1978) 'Fauna'ofthe Printed Map.'
1a Cartouche from the' Africae in' Tabula' by A.F. Zurneri C. 1709.
(By courtesy of I. Norwich.)
1b Close up of this cartouche showing the bushy fat tail supported on a wheeled trolley.
(By courtesy of I. Norwich.)
In her book and this more recent article, she confirms her contention that the animal illustrations on maps have not merely been placed there to fill the gaps and spaces, as expressed by early writers and other descriptions, but serve to depict a wealth of zoological truth. Those of us who live on the continent of Africa and are interested in antique map collecting of this fascinating land are particularly delighted with her chapter on African fauna. There is an interesting and wide variety of these - not only those that live on land but also those denizens of the oceans that surround the continent.
There is one particular animal illustrated on a number of maps of Africa in my own map collection which has always fascinated me - the fat tailed sheep. As Wilma George makes no specific mention of this unique anatomical and physiological feature of such fat tails on the sheep, these recorded descriptions could add to her researches. The tail appears on the following attractive cartouches of eighteenth century maps :
2a Cartouche from 'Nieuwe Pascaart Van oost Indien', a sea chart by Joannes Van Keulen, 1680.
2b Close up of fat tail from behind, completely unsupported (note decapitated head.)
This contribution was prompted by the article by Wilma George in our December issue 'Fauna of the Printed Map.' Mr Norwich, who is a map collector in South Africa and one of our readers, has always been fascinated by these 'fat tailed sheep' which appear on several eighteenth century maps and are known to be indigenous to Southern Africa from very early times.
MAP LOVERS AND collectors are indebted to Wilma George for her major contribution and original addition to the history of cartography in her book Animals and Maps, as a scientific evolution of map fauna. This book is a most erudite and useful source of reference in researching antique maps of the world as is her more recent article in The Map Collector, (December 1978) 'Fauna'ofthe Printed Map.'
1a Cartouche from the' Africae in' Tabula' by A.F. Zurneri C. 1709.
(By courtesy of I. Norwich.)
1b Close up of this cartouche showing the bushy fat tail supported on a wheeled trolley.
(By courtesy of I. Norwich.)
In her book and this more recent article, she confirms her contention that the animal illustrations on maps have not merely been placed there to fill the gaps and spaces, as expressed by early writers and other descriptions, but serve to depict a wealth of zoological truth. Those of us who live on the continent of Africa and are interested in antique map collecting of this fascinating land are particularly delighted with her chapter on African fauna. There is an interesting and wide variety of these - not only those that live on land but also those denizens of the oceans that surround the continent.
There is one particular animal illustrated on a number of maps of Africa in my own map collection which has always fascinated me - the fat tailed sheep. As Wilma George makes no specific mention of this unique anatomical and physiological feature of such fat tails on the sheep, these recorded descriptions could add to her researches. The tail appears on the following attractive cartouches of eighteenth century maps :
- 'Africae in Tabulae' by A.F. Zumeri, published by Petri Schenkii circa 1709. This is a particularly attractive cartouche illustrating a sitting sheep with its large bushy tail supported on a low two-wheeled trolley. (See Ills. 1 a and 1 b).
- 'Nieuwe Pascaart Van Oost lndien' by Joannes Van Keulen, 1680. A colourful animated cartouche with a backview of a large bushy fat tailed sheep in the foreground. Coincidently, this cartouche also shows a rather gruesome decapitation of what appears to be a white individual by a Moor. (See Ills. 2a and 2b).
- 'Totius Africae Nova Representio' by Jo Baptista Homanno, 1713. This cartouche shows a sideview of the fat tailed sheep supported on a low wheeled trolley. (See Ills. 3a and 3b).
- 'Acturatissima Totius Africae' by Jacobum de Sandrart, 1700. In this particularly attractive cartouche the fat tail is shown from behind on the left foreground being dragged along the ground. (See Ills. 4a and 4b).
2a Cartouche from 'Nieuwe Pascaart Van oost Indien', a sea chart by Joannes Van Keulen, 1680.
2b Close up of fat tail from behind, completely unsupported (note decapitated head.)
Historical and Evolutionary Background
From fossil carvings and ancient writing, sheep are known to have existed as far back as 7000 BC in Mesopotamia and somewhat later on the Island of Malta. Domestication of the sheep appears to have taken place in the Near East in the transition period between the old stone age and the new stone age.
Representations of the apparently hairy fat tailed sheep are depicted on frescoes in the Nile Valley of Egypt dating from the twelfth Dynasty circa 1800 BC. The distinguished zoologist, Dr. M.L. Ryder notes that sheep with fat tails evolved in an arid region as adaptation to provide necessary food storage comparable to the female steopygia of the very early indigenous Hottentot woman of similar arid regions of the Kalahari Desert and other regions of Southern Africa.
3a Cartouche from 'Totius A fricae Nova Representio' by Baptista Homanno of 1713.
3b Side view of a bushy tail supported by a wheeled trolley.
Herodotus, the Greek historian of the fifth century BC recorded the fat tailed sheep of Arabia which had become so long and heavy that 'men attached to them a little trolley to prevent them trailing along the ground and so contracting sores.' At that period every shepherd knew enough of the art of carpentry to make such trolleys.
The early broad fat tail also existed in the Holy Land; in Exodus (29.22) we read of the ram to be used for sacrificial purposes, 'and thou shall take ram to be used for sacrificial purposes and the rump and the fat that covereth the inwards.'
In the early history and colonisation of Southern Africa it is recorded that Jan van Riebeeck, who was sent to the Cape as the first Commander of the proposed trading and victualling post for the Dutch East India Company in 1654, recorded that the indigenous Hottentots had fat tailed sheep and cattle. Fresh meat was required for the passing ships to the East as well as for the early settlers at the Cape. Van Riebeeck obtained livestock from the Hottentots by bartering a plug of tobacco, some beads, etc. A length of copper wire measured from the head of a sheep to the tip of the tail was the medium of exchange for the sheep.
4a Cartouche from 'Accuratissima Totius Africae' by Jacobum de Sandrart, 1700.
4b Close up from behind of the unsupported particularly bushy fat tail.
Although the fat tailed sheep is known to be indigenous to Southern Africa from very early time, it is contended by the experts that the fat tail resulted from a cross of the fat rumped breed on the long tailed variety. Up to date information from the scientific personnel of the South African Wool Board indicate that the fat tailed sheep is still maintained for the purpose of crossing with other sheep because of their hardy characteristics. Their tails today are not as bushy or fat as illustrated in this record and they occur mainly in the North West Cape and the Kalahari desert.
Apart from the function of the fat tail to the sheep itself as a source of food in arid climates, the fat itself provided a delectable dish to the indigenous Hottentots. These inhabitants also used the fat to anoint and rub into their almost naked bodies for its supposedly aesthetic and medicinal properties.
Reference:
Extensive reference has been made to a well documented book An Illustrated World History of the Sheep and the Wool Industry published in Pretoria 1970 by the South African Wool Board.
It is interesting to note that in this volume a whole page of reproductions of original illustrations appear depicting four different techniques of supports for the fat tail especially used on breeds of Asiatic and North African origin.
Acknowledgements:
Particular acknowledgement to Mr. Nat Cowan, Curator of the Bensusan Photographic Museum, Johannesburg, for the photographic records.
COPYRIGHT June 1979 The Map Collector, All rights reserved.
No portion of this article nor the accompanying illustrations can or may be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
From fossil carvings and ancient writing, sheep are known to have existed as far back as 7000 BC in Mesopotamia and somewhat later on the Island of Malta. Domestication of the sheep appears to have taken place in the Near East in the transition period between the old stone age and the new stone age.
Representations of the apparently hairy fat tailed sheep are depicted on frescoes in the Nile Valley of Egypt dating from the twelfth Dynasty circa 1800 BC. The distinguished zoologist, Dr. M.L. Ryder notes that sheep with fat tails evolved in an arid region as adaptation to provide necessary food storage comparable to the female steopygia of the very early indigenous Hottentot woman of similar arid regions of the Kalahari Desert and other regions of Southern Africa.
3a Cartouche from 'Totius A fricae Nova Representio' by Baptista Homanno of 1713.
3b Side view of a bushy tail supported by a wheeled trolley.
Herodotus, the Greek historian of the fifth century BC recorded the fat tailed sheep of Arabia which had become so long and heavy that 'men attached to them a little trolley to prevent them trailing along the ground and so contracting sores.' At that period every shepherd knew enough of the art of carpentry to make such trolleys.
The early broad fat tail also existed in the Holy Land; in Exodus (29.22) we read of the ram to be used for sacrificial purposes, 'and thou shall take ram to be used for sacrificial purposes and the rump and the fat that covereth the inwards.'
In the early history and colonisation of Southern Africa it is recorded that Jan van Riebeeck, who was sent to the Cape as the first Commander of the proposed trading and victualling post for the Dutch East India Company in 1654, recorded that the indigenous Hottentots had fat tailed sheep and cattle. Fresh meat was required for the passing ships to the East as well as for the early settlers at the Cape. Van Riebeeck obtained livestock from the Hottentots by bartering a plug of tobacco, some beads, etc. A length of copper wire measured from the head of a sheep to the tip of the tail was the medium of exchange for the sheep.
4a Cartouche from 'Accuratissima Totius Africae' by Jacobum de Sandrart, 1700.
4b Close up from behind of the unsupported particularly bushy fat tail.
Apart from the function of the fat tail to the sheep itself as a source of food in arid climates, the fat itself provided a delectable dish to the indigenous Hottentots. These inhabitants also used the fat to anoint and rub into their almost naked bodies for its supposedly aesthetic and medicinal properties.
Reference:
Extensive reference has been made to a well documented book An Illustrated World History of the Sheep and the Wool Industry published in Pretoria 1970 by the South African Wool Board.
It is interesting to note that in this volume a whole page of reproductions of original illustrations appear depicting four different techniques of supports for the fat tail especially used on breeds of Asiatic and North African origin.
Acknowledgements:
Particular acknowledgement to Mr. Nat Cowan, Curator of the Bensusan Photographic Museum, Johannesburg, for the photographic records.
COPYRIGHT June 1979 The Map Collector, All rights reserved.
No portion of this article nor the accompanying illustrations can or may be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.