The Setswana wedding is characterised by ritual intensity. Whilst some rituals are changing rapidly, one particular event that has remained relevant is the handling and sharing of the motlhakanelwa beast. Kgomo ya motlhakanelwa, the beast that is shared, is one of the most important cows in the Setswana wedding ceremony because of its ritualistic significance. It is presented to the groom’s family by the father of the bride after receiving bogadi [bridewealth]. This beast is called motlhakanelwa — derived from the verb go tlhakanela [to share] — because, after it is presented, it is slaughtered and shared between the families of the bride and the groom. This paper investigates how this cow is butchered and discusses the social functions that are associated with its principal beef cuts and bones. The material for the study was collected from Kanye, the capital of GaNgwaketse district in Botswana, over a period of six months between 2018 and 2019, based on interviews conducted with ten village butchering experts during wedding celebrations. In all these events, the researcher observed the slaughter, skinning and butchering of carcasses and took photographs during the study.

塞斯瓦纳婚礼的特点是仪式强度大。尽管某些仪式在迅速变化，但仍然重要的一个特定事件是Motlhakanelwa野兽的处理和共享。共享的野兽Kgomo ya motlhakanelwa由于其仪式意义，是Setswana婚礼中最重要的母牛之一。它在收到bogadi [bridewealth]之后由新娘的父亲赠送给新郎的家人。这种野兽称为motlhakanelwa-源自动词go tlhakanela[分享]-因为在展示礼物后，新娘和新郎的家人将其宰杀并分享。本文研究了如何屠宰这头牛，并讨论了与其主要牛肉块和骨头相关的社会功能。该研究的材料是在2018年至2019年的六个月内，从博茨瓦纳GaNgwaketse区首府坎耶收集的，该访谈基于在婚礼庆典上对十名乡村屠夫专家的采访。在所有这些事件中，研究人员观察了屠体的屠宰，剥皮和屠宰，并在研究过程中照相。