A flute here, a line of poetry there. Such is the daily treatment of Rwanda’s royal cows that have become living symbols of the nation’s cultural heritage.

With their long and crescent-shaped horns, the Inyambo cows graze at the King’s Palace Museum in Nyanza and at the homes of some of Rwanda’s richest people, including President Paul Kagame. “They’re not for milk, they’re not for meat. They were just used as decorations around the palaces,” said museum curator Bigira Junior.