Understanding the social significance of cattle for African pastoralists has been a concern of anthropologists at least since the publication of Herskovits' classic work (1926). Pastoral models commonly depict how cattle are used in socially prescribed ways that enforce both social hierarchies and solidarity. This sort of approach emphasises the value and use of livestock mostly with reference to bounded cultural systems. Although such culturally relativistic portrayals offer valuable insights into traditions and customs that continue to influence the economic behaviour of African pastoralists, such models ignore many of the constraints and opportunities that capitalist modernisation imposes on the traditional roles of cattle. The constraints result in contradictions about ideal behaviors due to the conflicts that they establish with long-standing, institutionalised spheres for action, while the opportunities open up new arenas for innovation and action.