By Sameer Ibrahim, Oula Mahfouz, and Michael Seifert
The number of donkeys worldwide is estimated at 50 million, most of which live in the poorer countries of the world. According to recent research, today’s domestic donkeys can be traced back to African wild asses that were domesticated around 7,200 years ago in the arid mountains of northeastern Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea). However, the data available is not very extensive, which is why some researchers believe that domestic donkeys may also have developed in Mesopotamia, in the region of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, where cattle, sheep, and goats were first domesticated. Donkeys were important pack animals for the people of the Neolithic period and were used in the very first trade relations due to their endurance.
Donkeys are highly revered in many cultures, such as the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well as in some African and Asian cultures. They play a very special role for the Kurdish people in Iraq.
The donkey, silent companion of everyday life and the Kurdish resistance
The Kurds in northern Iraq have a saying that is firmly rooted in their collective imagination: “We have no friends except the mountains.” Many names have been handed down from the various struggles for freedom of the Kurdish people, but one hero remained anonymous, standing in the shadows – quietly fulfilling his role without boasting: It is the donkey—this humble creature that carried “the dreams of the revolution and its worries” through the mountains on its back.
For the Kurds, the donkey is not a symbol of stupidity, as it is in some cultures, but a sign of simplicity, patience, and loyalty. Many villagers regard it as a companion, irreplaceable, equal to humans.
In the heights of the Kurdish mountains, the donkey knew the way when all paths were blocked. It carried weapons, supplies, and food to the positions of the freedom fighters—under conditions that were almost unbearable. The donkey braved cold and hunger with patience. It didn’t need a map – its compass was in its hooves. Because it made no noise, it was ideal for secret missions. It moved silently, as if it knew that a sound could cost lives – so it chose silence.
A statue of a donkey in Kurdistan
Despite all these achievements, the donkey remained forgotten. However, in the megacity of Sulaymaniyah, an educational and cultural center in Iraqi Kurdistan, there is a bronze statue of a donkey in the market square. It shows the head, shoulders, and part of the chest of a donkey dressed in a suit, shirt, and tie. The donkey statue is the symbol of a party, the “Donkey Party,” which was formed in 2005. It is a satirical response to political corruption and the abandonment of democratic principles, and chose the donkey as a symbol of honesty and patience. As party founder Omar Kalol said: “Why should we be ashamed of the donkey? It is a good-natured animal, lives in peace, does not kill, does not betray, does not steal … Doesn’t it deserve to be our symbol?”
The donkey, already a transport animal in the ancient advanced civilizations of Mesopotamia, still played a decisive role in house construction in the old city of Baghdad at the end of the 19th century: “The narrow streets were inaccessible to large machines. So the donkey became a transport engineer – without it, no bricks would have arrived and no roofs would have been built,” reports editorial member Sameer Ibrahim.
“Donkey” as an insult in Central Europe
The assessment of the donkey is quite different in Central Europe, where the word “donkey” is used as an insult. This has a long tradition: “Donkey” as a term for a stupid person and thus as an insult can already be found in the Roman comedies of Terence and Plautus, as well as in the oldest literary texts in German.
There are also numerous proverbs and idioms in French, English, and other languages—for example, “There are many donkeys on two legs” and “Teaching a fool is as pointless as teaching a donkey to read.” Across languages, an unteachable and stubborn person is described as “stubborn as a donkey.”
What has been forgotten, however, is that in the Middle Ages, the punishment of “riding a donkey backwards” was widespread. In one French town, it was formulated as customary law: “Husbands who allow themselves to be beaten by their wives shall be forced and condemned to ride backwards on a donkey, so that their faces are turned towards the donkey’s tail.”[ Medieval monastery schools also had wooden donkeys that pupils had to ride as punishment.
Donkeys in animal fables and in the Bible
The French writer Jean de La Fontaine, famous for his animal fables, used stories and prejudices about animals in the 18th century to indirectly criticize people for their behavior. He used donkeys several times for this purpose, for example in the famous fable “L’Âne et ses Maîtres” (“The Donkey and His Masters”). In it, a donkey complains that his work disturbs his sleep because his master, a farmer, wakes him before dawn to take the garden produce to market. Fate takes pity on the donkey and gives him another master, a tanner, for whom he has to carry heavy and foul-smelling animal skins. The donkey complains again, saying that the weight of what he now has to carry is much greater than that of the “herbs” he carried before. He then ends up with a charcoal burner, but there too he has cause to complain. La Fontaine: “All people are like that. We are never happy with our lot.” The criticism levelled at animals enabled the author to circumvent the censorship that actually threatened writers in the age of absolutism.
The negative image of the donkey in Central European culture is surprising in that the animal is viewed quite positively in biblical texts. In the Old Testament, the prophet Balaam’s donkey proves to be wiser than her master and saves his life, even though he constantly beats her (Numbers 22:21ff.). In the New Testament, a donkey is said to have been present at the birth of Jesus and to have carried Jesus as a baby and his mother during their flight to Egypt. Jesus is said to have ridden triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey at the beginning of the week of his crucifixion and resurrection. The donkey therefore plays an important role in the Christian faith and is interpreted in theology as an animal of peace.
The donkey in Islam – in the Koran and the Sunnah
In Islam, the donkey is mentioned in various contexts in the Koran and in the prophetic tradition (Sunnah). Islamic sources treat the donkey as a working animal created by God, without demeaning or ridiculing it.
The donkey is mentioned in several places in the Quran, including: “The likeness of those who were entrusted with the Torah but did not carry it is like that of a donkey carrying books.” (Sura al-Jumuʿa (62:5)) In this verse, the donkey serves as a parable for people who possess knowledge (in this case, the Torah) but do not understand it or cannot put it into practice. The comparison is not meant to be derogatory toward the animal, but rather to illustrate the point. After all, no one expects a donkey to be able to read.
“Walk in a moderate manner and lower your voice, for the most detestable of voices is truly the voice of donkeys.” (Luqmān(31:13)) This advice comes from the admonitions that Luqman, a wise man mentioned in the Quran, gave to his son. He urges him to be moderate and not to disturb others with loud behavior. Here, too, it is not the animal itself that is criticized, but the inappropriate behavior of people who raise their voices in a manner that contradicts their dignity.
According to tradition, the Prophet Muhammad used the donkey as a simple means of transportation. Despite his high status, he saw nothing dishonorable in this. It is said that his donkey was named “Yaʿfūr.” This can mean “male gazelle” or “light and quick in movement.” In addition, the Prophet called for gentle and caring treatment of animals. He forbade beating or overburdening them, and this also applies to donkeys.
Arab folk traditions
In the original religious sources, the donkey was never portrayed as a symbol of stupidity or ridicule. On the contrary, it had a clear and useful role in everyday life. It was only in later oral folk literature, in stories and proverbs, that it began to be associated with characteristics such as stubbornness or simplicity, but this has no origin in the Koran or Sunna.
Dschuha (Arabic: Ǧuḥā) is a famous, humorous folk character known in Arab-Islamic cultural heritage. His stories, jokes, and anecdotes are often used to convey hidden wisdom or social criticism. The oldest traditions about him are said to date back to the 8th century AD. Dschuha became particularly well known for his funny stories about his donkey. The donkey was not the target of ridicule, but served as a comic element to reflect human behavior. However, through his repeated appearances in comical situations, the image of the donkey as a “simple” or “clumsy” animal has spread in folk tradition.
Our brief research shows that donkeys were revered and respected in ancient cultures, even in sacred texts, as they were extremely important working animals. In popular culture, donkeys then came to be “misused” as insults and, by extension, as a means of criticising people. Donkeys are still revered as heroes by the Kurds in northern Iraq today.
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