By Johnny Coomansingh
Writing about donkeys is just as exciting as writing about other animals, and, almost anything else. Writing about a “big jackass” or a “small jackass,” terms recently used derogatorily and ‘aired’ on Facebook for the whole world to see and hear is another matter. When I attended primary school, I learnt that a ‘jack ass’ is male donkey and a ‘jenny ass’ or ‘jennet’ a female donkey. A female donkey is also known as a ‘she-ass’ but this term is a bit antiquated and not so much in use today.
The humble donkey (Equus asinus), or domestic ass, belongs to the horse family, Equidae; descended from the African wild ass (Equus africanus). Donkeys can interbreed with horses to give rise to infertile mules. They can also interbreed with the zebra that belongs to the same family equus to create the zonkey. The zonkey, intriguingly also known as a zebadonk or zedonk, stands as a remarkable testament to nature’s versatility.
According to the Donkey Sanctuary (www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk) donkeys are generally intelligent and cautious animals that are both social and affectionate. They form strong bonds with other donkeys and can become lonely if isolated. While they have a reputation for being stubborn, this is often a misunderstanding of their cautious nature and reluctance to engage in situations they perceive as dangerous.
Loneliness can negatively impact their well-being, leading to stress or even hyperlipaemia if a bonded companion is lost. Hyperlipaemia occurs when donkeys stop eating or have significantly reduced appetites, leading to the mobilization of fat reserves. Hyperlipaemia can be a serious condition, with reported mortality rates of up to 80 percent. So where did donkeys come from, how do they behave and why were they important?
In the Wikipedia text, it is written:
“The ancestors of the modern donkey are the Nubian and Somalian subspecies of the African wild ass. Remains of domestic donkeys dating to the fourth millennium BC have been found in Ma’adi in lower Egypt, and it is believed that the domestication of the donkey was accomplished long after the domestication of cattle, sheep and goats in the seventh and eighth millennia BC. Donkeys were probably first domesticated by pastoral people in Nubia, and they supplanted the ox as the chief pack animal of that culture. The domestication of donkeys served to increase the mobility of pastoral cultures, having the advantage over ruminants of not needing time to chew their cud, and were vital in the development of long-distance trade across Egypt.
“In the Dynasty IV era of Egypt, between 2675 and 2565 BC, wealthy members of society were known to own over 1,000 donkeys, employed in agriculture, as dairy and meat animals and as pack animals. In 2003, the tomb of either King Narmer or King Hor-Aha (two of the first Egyptian pharaohs) was excavated and the skeletons of ten donkeys were found buried in a manner usually used with high ranking humans. These burials show the importance of donkeys to the early Egyptian state and its ruler.
“Likely based on a stronger prey instinct and a weaker connection with humans, it is considerably more difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing something it perceives to be dangerous for whatever reason. Once a person has earned their confidence they can be willing and companionable partners and very dependable in work. Although formal studies of their behavior and cognition are rather limited, donkeys appear to be quite intelligent, cautious, friendly, playful, and eager to learn.”
So much for that part of the donkey information. You may ask where is he going with all this donkey talk. Sometimes it is important to inform some people that nature made everything for a reason and human beings are the only species with a power of choice. Right now, the twin-island state of Trinidad and Tobago is in the throes of the hustings of the general elections until April 27. April 28, 2025 is election day. There are two major parties, the People’s National Movement (PNM) and the United National Congress (UNC). The UNC has chosen to join forces with other parties and labor unions in an attempt to oust the ruling PNM. On the political platforms, candidates express things, some more disgusting and nasty than others.
Sometimes I let certain verbiage escape my attention; to slide as they say. Nevertheless, this is my reaction to a snide statement made by Camille Robinson-Regis, the present attorney general and a long-standing member of the PNM; remember she is the second in command after the prime minister. It is an accepted fact that we all expect mudslinging during election campaigns. However, the art of reshaping the ‘mudballs’ and flinging them back at the opponent is difficult for many. It’s difficult for me to comprehend Robinson-Regis’s repulsive remarks on a PNM political platform highlighted on FaceBook: “Big jackass, small jackass, same lasso. We coming for them. We coming for them.” I declare that this phase was crass and callous, and for a minister of the present government, absolutely shallow, undignified, senseless and condescending.
Now who is she referring to? Is she referring to the people who are not members or supporters of the PNM as jackasses? Is she looking at the thousands of people who are UNC supporters and those who are independent? Does she know about the true qualities of male donkeys (jackasses)? Why would she want to ‘lasso’ the jackasses? What is she going to do with them when she captures them? Sell them? Put them in a paddock? Does she want to create a jackass sanctuary? Her idea is certainly not in synch with our national watchwords: Discipline, Production and Tolerance, and her words certainly does not contribute to this particular line in our national anthem: “Here every creed and race find an equal place and may God bless our nation.” She has used the term ‘jackass’ in a most deprecating manner.
For what I have presented before in the script, it is quite lucid that Robinson-Regis does not know anything about the greatness of donkeys. In fact, it was Dr Eric Eustace Williams a former PNM prime minister who said at one time “…let the jackass bray.” Here is the initial use of the term ‘jackass” in PNM circles. It could be that Robinson-Regis, was in some way, emulating the first prime minister. It could be that the term was a type of verbal ammunition that sounded good to her. Apparently, she applied the same ‘rule’ from the PNM’s ancient political playbook to refer to some citizens as jackasses. However, I have news for Miss Robinson-Regis; news that she needs to recognize about the qualities of donkeys, jackasses in particular.
In George Orwell’s book titled, Animal Farm, Benjamin the donkey is a wise, cynical, and long-lived character who serves as a voice of reason and a realist amidst the revolution and its aftermath. He is old, observant, and wary of the pigs’ leadership, often expressing a pessimistic view of life and the inevitability of hardship. Although cynical and pessimistic, Benjamin is one of the wisest animals on the farm.
He understands the changing rules and the pigs’ manipulation, but he chooses not to actively oppose them. He is also one of the only animals who can read well, allowing him to see the truth behind the pigs’ lies. In terms of symbolism, Benjamin embodies the voice of reason and the reality of life under oppressive regimes. It could be that Robinson-Regis did not rifle the pages of Animal Farm.
I don’t know if Robinson-Regis knows this, but sometimes jackasses talk, and funny as it may sound, some individuals converse with them. In the biblical book of Numbers, chapter 22, a story is given of the prophet Balaam, and his donkey.
Balaam was going to curse the house of Israel. It reads thus:
“Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him…When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides.
When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
“Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.”
Just last Sunday was Palm Sunday (April 13, 2025). Didn’t Jesus Christ ride on an ass (a young colt) to enter Jerusalem? To celebrate Palm Sunday without celebrating the ass is no celebration at all. The ass is part and parcel of the theatre. How important was that donkey? Without that donkey what would Jesus have ridden? He was not so fortunate to have had a horse, maybe like Pontius Pilate.
Wasn’t it a donkey that took Mary, baby Jesus and Joseph to Egypt when Herod was out to kill Jesus? Didn’t Jesus say in his ministry that if your ass falls in a pit on the Sabbath day that you’d do well to go rescue your ass?
Let me remind Camille Robinson-Regis, the attorney general that she should never for one moment entertain the thought that the ‘other’ citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, big or small, are ‘jackasses.’ In this regard, I personally take umbrage to her utterances. According to Dr Francisco Slinger (The Mighty Sparrow), “… we passed that stage” and we are no longer slaves to be lassoed. She should be aware that the jackasses she entertains in her mentality still have their place and their role in the society. Did Robinson-Regis seek “to earn the confidence of her ‘jackasses’ so that they can be willing and companionable partners?”
There are 80 statements in the Bible concerning the term ‘ass.’ The one that caught my eye was found in Deuteronomy 22: 4 — “Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift [them] up again. Will Camille Robinson-Regis help to “… lift them up again?” I savor the maxim: “It’s nice to be important but more important to be nice.” Ent?
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