As I have explained in chapter three, Giriama cattle owners and herders identify every single member of their herd(s). Nowadays, a list is commonly kept, written by hand in a school exercise book, sometimes with the help of a younger son who is at school but who also helps herd cattle when he is available. A younger son of school age is more likely to be entrusted with this information than an older one wanting to marry, for the latter's ‘impatience’ to use some of the cattle for bride wealth may conflict with his father's own plans, which may envisage a more gradual deployment of the herd, in order to satisfy the successive bridewealth needs of all unmarried sons. Sons themselves usually agree that it is only their father who is in a position to distribute the cattle fairly for these purposes, although they can also point to what they regard as bad decisions made by fathers. It follows that the father alone, though sometimes aided by a younger son, is supposed to have total knowledge of all the cattle under his charge and held in trust for his family. This means knowing the inventory of terms for distinguishing cattle.

No doubt new terms come into usage, although I have not witnessed such innovation.