How Donkeys Get Their Cross on Their Back
From Winnie the Pooh to Shrek, donkeys have appeared as quirky, loyal sidekicks in films and children's books for decades.
Often cast as unassuming, stubborn and sometimes a little dimwitted, donkeys have a rich history as the real-life heroes of agriculture, town planning and religion.
And if you look closely, all donkeys across the world, whether they are grazing in pastures or gracing the big screen, share one mysterious feature — they have a dark cross on their backs, running down their spines and across their shoulders.
"They've all got them, even the dark ones. If you shaved their fur, you would find the cross on their skin," Western Australia Donkey Society president Dawn Maton said.
A biblical and scientific mystery
Ms Maton's passion for donkeys started late in life after her daughter left one in her care when she moved overseas several years ago.
"They're very loyal, very hardworking, won't take any nonsense from you and they are actually only stubborn if they perceive that you're being silly," she said.
Ms Maton noticed the marking on her own Mr Darcy and recalled a Christian story from her childhood.
"Apparently when Jesus was carrying his cross to the mount, a little donkey tried to help him but couldn't get through the crowd," she explained.
"When the crowd dispersed, the little donkey went up to Jesus, and he stood behind the cross and as the sun went down, the shadow of the cross fell across the donkey, and now every donkey has the cross."
The story of the little donkey has permeated Christian storytelling and liturgy for hundreds of years, but according to the University of Notre Dame senior theology lecturer Angela McCarthy, that tale never actually appeared in the Bible.
But that is not to say the donkey does not enjoy prominence in other biblical and historic narratives.
While feral donkeys in Australia are considered environmental pests, in Israel the donkey is described as the first town planner.
Dr McCarthy said that was because it would find the easiest track up the mountain, and that is where roads would develop.
It is the only animal in the Bible other than the serpent to speak, and it plays a significant role in more than one Christian prophecy.
"The Christian story picks up where the donkey is used in Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem," Dr McCarthy said.
"And he particularly knows the leaders of the day — when they see him doing that — they are going to be shocked, because they will know he's referring to the prophecy of Zachariah and how the king will come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.
"This was one of the ways in which Jesus challenged the leaders of the temple before the crucifixion, and it was after that that he was arrested.
"That began his passion death and resurrection."
A question of camouflage?
The mystery of the donkey's cross is less symbolic in the scientific realm.
Researchers believe the same gene that causes a camouflaging colour in modern horses is behind the stripes on the coats of several other animals in the horse family.
Different kinds of zebra, the kulan, donkeys and modern horses separated from each other about 3 million years ago, and their common ancestor most likely had some sort of striping or banding, according to Claire Wade, professor of computational biology and animal genetics at the University of Sydney.
"You have the full range from the zebras that are striped all over, then you have the Somali wild asses which have a dorsal stripe and banding on their legs, and then you have the donkey which has the dorsal stripe and the shoulder stripe," she said.
Ms Wade said while the evidence was not yet concrete, research has predicted these "primitive markings" could have played a role in camouflaging.
"If you're standing in the bushes it's harder to see if you've got stripes on — or so the hunters say," she said.
Symbolism in storytelling
Donkeys are not the only part of the natural world that communities have used religious myths or cultural symbolism to rationalise.
These stories have permeated cultures around the world for centuries.
Dreaming stories help explain how the Great Barrier Reef was formed, while the Maori believe the Milky Way came from a canoe.
Dr McCarthy said the story of the little donkey and how it had been attached to the nativity and crucifixion was no different.
"It makes it real," she said.
"To help people understand that Jesus was of the normal people, that he wasn't born into privilege, because the previous emphasis had been on Jesus's divinity."
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How Donkeys Get Their Cross on Their Back
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-12/donkeys-where-science-religion-and-pop-culture-collide/10356576
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