{{Short description|Leather of cattle with hairs attached}} {{One source|date=April 2021}} [[File:Cowhide fur skin in a furrier's shop, 2011.jpg|thumb|250px|Cowhide in a [[furrier]]'s shop.]] '''Cowhide''' is the natural, unbleached skin and hair of a [[cow]]. It retains the original coloring of the animal. Cowhides are a product of the [[food industry]] from [[cattle]]. Cowhide is frequently processed into [[leather]].
==Process== Once a cow has been killed, the skin is removed. It is then selected in the raw state, at the very first moment when it is salted. It is organized by size and color. In the [[Tanning (leather)|tannery]], a traditional hair on hide tanning method is employed to ensure that the hide is soft, and less susceptible to [[odour]] and [[moulting]]. It ensures that the cowhide will last longer. It is then naturally dried and the best hides are separated from the rest, with the ones that cannot be used in full as decorative items separated to be used as [[patchwork]] [[Carpet|rugs]]. These are usually those with damage (for example cuts and other injuries to the skin during the life of the animal) that causes the skin to tear post drying.
==Use== Cowhide can be [[dyeing|dyed]] to resemble skins such as [[tiger]] or [[zebra]] skins, but dyeing is usually reserved for the lower quality cowhides. The best quality hides are usually presented in their natural colors, which are based on the breed of the bovine.
===Nguni culture=== [[File:ConstitutionalCourtofSouthAfrica-table-20070412.jpg|thumb|250px|Nguni Cowhide, The judges' table in a courtroom of the [[Constitutional Court of South Africa]]]] Among the southern African Zulu people, cowhide was employed in various ways, though it has recently been relegated to ceremonial use. Cowhide was used to make [[Nguni shield]]s and the traditional skirt called the ''[[isidwaba]]''. Men wore a [[calfskin]] flap, the ''ibeshu'', to cover the buttocks, and the ''umutsha'' loin cloth was tied to the body with a cow hide belt. The ''iphovela'' was a headdress made of cow skin, and the ''ishoba'' or ''umshokobezi'' was a tufted cowtail used as an arm or leg decoration.<ref name="suth">{{cite book|last1=Sutherland |first1=Jonathan |last2=Canwell |first2=Diane |title=The Zulu kings and their armies |date=2004 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |location=Barnsley |isbn=9781844150601 |pages=vii-x |edition=1}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
[[Category:Leather]]
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