Cattle are the main form of livelihood for the Nuer and constitute a central aspect of their culture. Much of their diet is derived from the cattle they raise—primarily milk, but also blood and meat to a lesser extent. As Evans-Pritchard notes, “Although cattle have many uses they are chiefly useful for the milk they provide” (21). Other dietary sources, like millet and fish, are regarded as secondary and of lesser value to the place of milk, even during times of the year where they might serve as the main form of nutrition. Much of the material culture of the Nuer is also derived from cattle, whose hides and horns provide the main source for belts, bags, and other utensils. The physical terrain of Nuerland is well adapted to cattle herding and less amenable to horticulture, so ecological concerns support the central position of cattle in Nuer culture.

Beyond being a source of food and material culture, cattle husbandry also provides a linguistic and conceptual idiom for the expression of Nuer values. “Their social idiom is a bovine idiom” (19). Terms for color, size, shape, and other features often have references to cattle. People are more frequently called by the name of their favorite ox or cow than by their own personal name, and cattle themselves become—through marriage or other forms of transfer—a medium through which social relationships are established, affirmed, and remembered.