This is a tale of the disappearing donkey – those overworked and undervalued creatures that are disappearing from our own backyards. Some may sneer at my choice of subject, still others may see this diminution as a progressive step! But do not be hasty, dear reader. For the dons who study donkeys have detected a dark mystery behind the dwindling number of asses in our midst. And humans and donkeys may be more akin than you ever dreamt!
But before the story, a little history.
Past glory
Donkeys have borne much of mankind’s burden uncomplainingly ever since they were domesticated over 5000 years ago. They have plodded sure-footedly over sand, shale and stony ground with their saddlebags – along with their cousins, the mules. From Egypt and Mesopotamia, eastwards to China and westwards to the Americas; they have carted men and merchandise, armies and ammunition, treasures and trash with equanimity. They have tilled the soil, drawn water from wells, asking for little and surviving on less. A worker par excellence, it went where no horses could climb and no carriage would pass.
Nor were they just beasts of burden. Egyptians measured their wealth by the numbers of their donkeys. The donkey was the symbol of the Sun god Ra, and it was entombed with the royal Pharaohs to be their cherished companions in the after-life. A leisurely soak in asses’ milk was the secret of Cleopatra’s ageless and matchless beauty. Roman physicians and Roman beauties attributed miraculous powers of donkey’s milk. All the way from anti-venom to anti-wrinkle!
Sadly, the fortunes of the donkey have steadily plummeted. It is now merely the butt of a party game; and a creature immortalised in fables as lazy, stubborn, and stupid!
Smart, dumb or stubborn ass?
This is a grave injustice, for researchers have determined that the donkey’s cognitive ability spans a spectrum ranging from that of a dumb ass to a smart ass! Which makes them so much like us humans! A stoical creature, not easily startled, patient and calm, there is much we can learn from donkeys. Philosophers have recognised this innate truth.
….”Asininity is the symbol of wisdom”; …”strive, strive, therefore, to be asses, who you are men.”
Giordano Bruno and the Philosophy of the Ass https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.12987/9780300242232/html?lang=en
Furthermore, the donkey has an excellent memory and sound judgment. Its legendary stubbornness is merely a sign of its independent spirit and a strong instinct of self-preservation – which prevents it from following the orders of its (foolish) masters! Further personality studies are underway!
But back to the pertinent question – where have all the donkeys gone?
Man and machine were the bane of the donkey’s existence. The potter, the washerman, the farmer all abandoned their faithful companion, leaving it to fend for itself. The donkey’s future looked as bleak and grey as its dun coat. Yet it is this much-scarred and whipped hide that holds the secret of its disappearing numbers. Ass-hide gelation or ejiao is highly prized in traditional Chinese medicine. Such was the demand for ejiao that donkeys had to be exported from nations with a surplus of asses – which nearly decimated the poor beast! A thriving international illegal donkey-skin trade still continues, leading to its shrinking numbers.
There is more to this grisly tale. Donkey meat has gained a reputation for increasing male libido and virility, and the abandoned animal has become easy meat for marauding butchers.
This is the true, dark tale of the disappearing donkey- a tale of the underdog caught in an international conspiracy, with elements of sex, smuggling and slaughter!
The future
What does the future hold for the disappearing donkey? Will it ever regain its past glory? Enlightened societies are making a start. Housed in sanctuaries, with light food and gentle exercise, donkeys are being recompensed for centuries of slave labor. As a next step, we should consider deleting all derogatory references to the much-maligned beast in literature. And while it may not sound like music to our ears, there should be no shame in braying, either.
The milk of goodness
But the donkey’s best-kept secret is its milk of (asinine) goodness! Donkey’s milk, while not generous in quantity, is astonishingly similar to human milk – light, nourishing and rich in antibodies. A generation of orphaned human babies were, in fact, suckled at the teats of asses in the nineteenth century. A well-aimed publicity campaign which highlights donkey’s milk as the nearest thing to mother’s milk will set the record straight! At the same time correcting the historical inequity between the bovine haves- and the asinine have-nots!
And that’s not all. Why forget the link between beauty and the beast? Donkey’s milk is used in soaps and cosmetics even today. Why not reintroduce Cleopatra’s beauty secret it in its original form? – a luxurious soak in the milk of a hundred asses! To appeal to Indian sensibilities it shall henceforth be renamed – as the Shakuntala snan!
Credits
Image by Wokandapix