“I don’t know if there’s already a designated creature, which holds the title of National Animal of Bahrain, but to my mind none would be more deserving than Equus asinus – the donkey. No other animal has toiled more for the people of Bahrain, nor contributed more to the country’s prosperity than this humble creature. Before the widespread use of motor vehicles, donkeys were the main means of transport. Every village, and central Manama itself, was teeming with donkeys. They were used to transport sweet water and kerosene around the neighbourhoods; they took goods to and from the market place; they pulled the municipal rubbish carts; they collected fish from the seashore; and, before air transport, they were used to bring ashore passengers from boats during low tide. It is thought that all domestic donkeys originated from the Nubian wild ass (Equus asinus africanus), and the first domesticated donkeys were probably imported into Bahrain during the Dilmun era, when the inhabitants of the islands practised a flourishing trade in the import/export business. Donkey bones dating from the third and second millennium BC have been unearthed at various archaeological sites around Bahrain, providing historical evidence of the close association between people and donkeys in Bahrain……………..”



The writer says that he does not know if “there’s already a designated creature, which holds the title of National Animal of Bahrain”. I got news for her (or him): the people have already chosen the national animal of Bahrain, and they all seem to agree that it is the ass (or donkey or jackass). Or maybe I should say Al-Ass (or Al-Donkey or Al-Jackass). Why do you think they have been rebelling for three years?

That article was written in 2007, before the people rebelled against all them long-eared Als. It was published by a daily that calls itself “The Voice of Bahrain”.

It says here that Nubian asses were imported into Bahrain centuries ago, but that was probably on a small scale. I was told by sources in Bahrain and Kuwait that most donkeys of Bahrain seem to have migrated to the island with the Al-Khalifa clan. When the clan moved through Kuwait to Bahrain about a couple of centuries ago, suddenly the number of asses in Bahrain increased dramatically, while the number of donkeys in my native Kuwait decreased dramatically. I wonder if there is a connection between the dramatic shift in asinine demographics. That this is how the Equus asinus became the Equus asinus Bahrainicus.

I was also told by someone who claims she is knowledgeable that, immediately after that migration, the average intelligence of a resident of Kuwait skyrocketed, even before I was born in the Sharq district. At the same time the average intelligence of a resident of Bahrain dropped sharply with the new arrivals. Street crime also increased on the island, eventually aided and abetted by Western advisers and weapons and imported foreign mercenaries. Looting and thievery on a grand scale, especially of land, also increased at that time and continues to be extremely high.

I think this requires further study, and perhaps some deep thinking. More on this soon, stay tuned.

(FYI: this is a newly altered version of an older post. It is one of those posts that I enjoy going back and reading again, and revising. It is one of the posts I like to share every once in a while. I have made some slight changes on this current post).
Cheers
mhg