The Russian language is poetic, diverse and eloquent. Sometimes there are a lot of epithets in it to denote the same concept, and similar words can carry completely different meanings. For example, do you know how a donkey differs from a donkey?
It's pretty simple. A donkey is a domesticated donkey, and a donkey can be called both a domestic “pet” and its wild brother. In a word, the only difference is where these words have taken root.
Origin of concepts
In ancient Rome, small beasts of burden were called Asinus. Over the centuries, the word has been transformed into a more familiar to us "donkey", and this name has stuck with animals in science, to denote the type of animal, and in the household.
But the word "donkey" came into our speech from the Turkic languages of the 16th century. In the Middle East, these hardy short-legged horses were also common, capable of dragging a heavy load, a cart or a person for days.
In the children's educational book "The World of Animals" Sitnikov V. P. explains that donkeys are domesticated male donkeys, while for females there is no separate name - donkeys and all who are sometimes called "donkeys".
General information
A domestic donkey or donkey is a mammal with a life expectancy of 20-30 years. The ancestors of the donkey were the ancestors of zebras and horses. The breeding season occurs in late spring - early summer, and pregnancy lasts an average of a year, sometimes plus a month. A donkey gives birth to 1-2 cubs.
The donkey becomes "grown-up", that is, ready for hard work, by the age of two, but it is impossible to load the donkey with the weights of the donkey until three years old, so as not to deform the still fragile spine. Height at the withers - 90-160 cm, depending on the breed. The largest are representatives of the Puatus and Catalan breeds. The color also depends on the breed - the donkey can be white, gray, red, almost black, brown and others.
The advantages of a leisurely stubborn donkey over a horse are obvious - it can carry a weight that exceeds its own, work almost round the clock, without fear of wading along mountain paths and for a very long time without water and food, in which it is much more unpretentious than any mare.
Other names
There are many other names for a small stubborn animal that has worked hard for humans since the 15th century BC - kulan, mule, mule, mashtak. But not all of them correspond to a donkey. Few people know that a donkey is capable of interbreeding with a horse, although the offspring are sterile.
A mule, like a hinnie, is the result of such an alliance, a strong horse, which has taken a slightly higher growth and endurance than that of ordinary donkeys. There is a misconception that a mule is a castrated donkey, but it is not. A mule, like a hinnie, is not quite a donkey, it is just a cross between a horse and a donkey, unable to produce offspring.
Kulan - this is the name of a species from the "horse" family, which has much in common with the donkey. But in fact, this is a different animal, although common ancestors have in common with the donkey.
The kulan looks different, is common in the grassy steppes of Asia and has never been tamed, except in isolated cases. All donkeys in the service of man are tamed donkeys from Africa.
Mashtak - this word came to us from the Kazakh language, and means a small, stocky, strong horse. And they also jokingly called stocky people, sturdy men with a gloomy character.
A bit of history
For the first time, information about donkeys appears in historical documents around the 15th century BC. Nubian donkeys were used to transport goods in the Nile Delta; information about small pack animals is also on the tablets of Mesopotamia. The predecessors of Roman civilization, the Etruscans, also mention donkeys. In ancient Egypt, the donkey was the symbolic animal of the god Set.
The myths of ancient Greece are literally filled with donkeys, and these animals were considered a model of stubbornness and courage. The difference between the Greek image of the donkey and its symbolism during the Roman Empire is almost cardinal. In Rome, the donkey becomes the emblem of lust, greed and stupidity, and the first caricatures of young Christianity depicted crucified donkeys.
By the way, there is an ironic Roman novel in 11 books, written by Apuleius, called "Metamorphoses" (or "Golden Donkey"), where the donkey, or rather, the protagonist Lucius, turned into a donkey, becomes the central character of the story. And he turned because of the abundant sensual pleasures (described in detail on the pages of the novel) and temptations of life, which brought him to a "bestial" state.
In the guise of an animal, a guy falls into the service of different owners, works exhaustingly, starves and sees the life of various strata of society from the inside, everywhere observing a decline in morals. You can read about this ancient work on Wikipedia.
In mythology, King Midas receives donkey ears as punishment, long ears are part of a jester's cap. Donkeys helped Dionysus in his gigantomachy, they were sacrificed to the god of war Ares, Silenus rode on a donkey and the giant Typhon escaped the wrath of the gods. In a word, in ancient civilization, the well-known donkey was a well-known figure and was actively used in art, economy and even in wars. By the way, the incomparable Cleopatra made her baths from donkey milk.
In Christianity, the donkey becomes a symbol of modesty, patience, humility and poverty. It was on the donkey that Mary traveled to Bethlehem, and Christ entered Jerusalem, the capital of Israel - this is an indisputable historical fact.
In different religions, the donkey personifies different qualities - in Judaism it is a symbol of stubbornness, in Buddhism it is the embodiment of asceticism and humiliation, the donkey is mentioned in the Koran as a symbol of stupid cowardice. Moreover, Islam forbids eating the meat of domestic donkeys, but wild donkeys are allowed.
In Russia in the 17th century, there was a church tradition - an Easter detour by the patriarch of Moscow on a donkey. This animal was associated with Palm Sunday and Nicholas the Wonderworker. Nevertheless, the domestic donkey was much more common in Asia, and it was there that it was stubbornly called a donkey, on which the padishah himself did not disdain to ride.
The famous folklore character Khoja Nasreddin, the hero of a whole cultural layer of fairy tales, parables, sayings, humorous tales and anecdotes of the East, appeared everywhere riding on his beloved donkey, so he is depicted in the form of numerous monuments - a laughing man riding a donkey.
A vagabond and free-thinker, he is somehow present in the culture of Turkey, China, in Arabic, Persian, Caucasian, Balkan and Central Asian literature. And he is always depicted riding a donkey, which often becomes the main character in stories about Hodge.
Present time
In the Middle Ages, the donkey spread throughout Europe, and began to serve for meat, skin, milk, and it was donkey skin that was considered the best for drums and the production of parchment. But for transportation, horses were already in full swing - because of the greater carrying capacity and speed.
But a small, stubborn and hardy donkey is still widely used in human activity today wherever there are people and conditions for keeping these rather heat-loving animals. Caucasus, Asia, China, Korea - almost everywhere in the household there is a small hardworking donkey.
Donkey meat is actively used in the cooking of Korea, China, the Komi Republic, Central Asia. It is more nutritious than beef, richer in nutrients, and, of course, gives the gourmet one hundred percent donkey stubbornness in achieving their goals. True, the preparation of donkey meat is quite capricious - it needs to be soaked for a long time to remove a specific aroma, and then cook for a long time so that the meat becomes soft.
In China, the donkey is a valuable animal that not only works for the peasants and occupies a large place in cooking, but is also used to obtain euzyao. It is a special chocolate-like substance made from donkey skin that is used in the production of beauty products and medicines. Unfortunately, today the words "donkey" and "donkey" are very unflattering epithets that are applied to stupid, greedy and evil people, but this small, stubborn and intelligent worker, who has worked for people for centuries, hardly deserves such an attitude.
