Mashona

Cattle

The Mashona cattle are also known by local names including Makalanga, Kalanga, Makaranga, Ngombe dza Vakaranga, Shona Mashuk and Mashukulumbwe. The original Makalanga (Makaranga, Ngombe dza Vakaranga) cattle of the Shona people of the eastern half of Zimbabwe were of Sanga type, similar to the Tonga cattle of Zambia. These were decimated by the cattle plague of 1896-98 and East Coast Fever epidemic of 1900-06 (DAGRIS 2005). Subsequently, large numbers of Angoni cattle were introduced and crossed with the remaining Makalanga cattle. Rigorous selection for traits of economic importance by commercial breeders led to progressive improvement. The breed was later renamed to Mashona, and the breed association and herd book were established in 1954 (Felius, 1995). ref:agtr.ilri.org