For three years now peace has reigned in Juba, administrative center of South Sudan, which as a result has expanded rapidly, as people from all of southern Sudan’s numerous and varied ethnic groups are drawn to the new capital. But whatever the tribe — pastoralist, agriculturalist or a mixture of the two — everyone wants at least one cow to be slaughtered for their wedding. “The problem is that a good bull can cost over $1,200 and even a cow something like $500,” a local government official said. Similar figures are cited all over town and other parts of the south are only moderately cheaper. Even for the newly moneyed southerners, those who have attained government contracts or who form part of the massively oversized, oil-funded civil service, a cow for the wedding feast is a major expense. The problem is, explained the official, that southerners would rather keep or
