cattle raids
Stealing herds forcibly
Cattle raids are attacks to steal livestock from another group, historically a common form of warfare and wealth-building among pastoral societies.
Raiding for cattle carried cultural prestige in many traditions—Irish, African, and Native American among them.
The practice persists in some regions: Cattle raids between rival tribes have intensified along the border.
The term also applies to rustling operations by criminal gangs.
- feudsProlonged bitter conflicts
- tribal warfareCombat between clan-based societies
- Celtic warriorsAncient British Isles fighters
- herdGrazing animals together
- theftUnlawful taking of property
territorial disputes · revenge · ambush · banditry · ancient Mesopotamia · military training · Táin Bó Cúailnge · social status · wealth redistribution · chase · stealth operations · outlaws · border reivers · escape routes · war party · rope · stampede · horn
- African traditionsinitiation ceremonies, naming ceremony, ancestral worship, rites of passage, tribal chiefs
- Ancient IrelandCelts, Gaels, druids, Tara, Brehon law
- CeltsCelts, Gauls, Britons, Galatians, Celtiberians
- Maasaiwarriors, red ochre, ochre, red cloth, red clothing
- Nilotic culturescarification, tribal elders, elder councils, naming ceremonies, levirate marriage
- Celtic lawBrehon law, Brehon laws, legal texts, dire, lawgivers