DONKEYS
Christian tradition stated that donkeys originally had unmarked hides, and that
it was only after Christ's entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey that
they received the dark cross on their backs. The hairs from the cross were
widely believed to cure a number of ailments, and were often worn in a charm
around the neck to guard against whooping-cough, toothache, fits, and to ease
teething pains in babies. Sometimes the hairs were eaten in a sandwich instead.
Riding a donkey was also believed officious, especially if the rider faced the
donkey's tail end, and was sometimes used as a preventative for toothache,
measles and other children's complaints. One cure of whooping-cough and ague
stated that the patient should be passed under a donkey and over its back either
three or nine times; the trick of feeding an animal some of the patient's hair
to transfer the illness was also used with donkeys. The donkey was also used to
help cure the complaints of other animals; letting a black donkey run with mares
in a field was thought to stop the mares miscarrying.
An old saying claims that no one ever sees a dead donkey; however, there is also
a tradition that to see a dead donkey means great good fortune, and even as
recently as this century it was considered a good luck charm to leap over the
carcass of a dead donkey three times.
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