WELCOME TO AN ENTERTAINMENT SITE FOR SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCERS!
Enjoy this curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!
May 8
Donkey Day
The Brays of McGregor
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"🎶“An' ye had been where I hae been
Ye wadna been sae cantie-o
An' ye had seen what I hae seen
On the braes o' Killiecrankie-o”
~ Extract from ‘The Braes o' Killiecrankie’ by Robert Burns
Hee Haw! Hee Haw! This verse accompanies the dance description for this straightforward 3 couple strathspey, devised to highlight the work of the Eseltjierus Donkey Sanctuary just outside McGregor, in South Africa's Western Cape. According to the devisor: The sanctuary provides a permanent refuge for abused, neglected and elderly donkeys where they are given the opportunity to live out their lives with respect and dignity, in a protective and natural environment."
The donkey has long held a special place in cultures around the world, admired for its hardworking nature, intelligence, patience, and occasional streak of comic stubbornness. Aesop’s fables featured donkeys constantly, including The Ass in the Lion’s Skin and The Miller, His Son, and the Donkey. Sancho Panza’s faithful donkey Dapple carried his master through the adventures of Don Quixote, while the quietly gloomy Eeyore of Winnie-the-Pooh became one of literature’s most beloved pessimists.
These endearing and hardworking animals even have their own tartan. the Australian Donkey, meant to recognize donkeys across the world! The tartan was released on the Feast of St Francis, patron Saint of animals, and also adopted as patron Saint of donkeys! Hee Haw! 🕺💃 🤎 🖤 🤎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🇿🇦
The Brays of McGregor
May 8th is World Donkey Day, a day to bring awareness to the over 41 million donkeys in the world today and to highlight rescue organizations all over the world.
The donkey, has been used as a working animal for at least 5000 years. A male donkey or ass is called a jack, a female a jenny or jennet. Jack donkeys are often used to mate with female horses to produce mules; the biological "reciprocal" of a mule, from a stallion and jenny as its parents instead, is called a hinny. These crosses are sterile.
Although the etymological origins of the word donkey are disputed, by the 18th century, the word donkey gradually replaced ass, and jenny replaced she-ass, which is now considered archaic. Other words used for the ass in English from this time include cuddy in Scotland, neddy in southwest England and dicky in the southeast. Moke is documented in the 19th century, and may be of Welsh or Gypsy origin.
The offspring of a zebra-donkey cross is called a zonkey, zebroid, zebrass, or zedonk
For more on the sanctuary for which this dance was devised, click the vintage illustration of a classic American children's game, Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
