And their camels too!

In a recent post, Dov Bear writes about the curse of Ham: (http://dovbear.blogspot.com/2005/10/curse-of-ham.html).

"Noah ( ) did not curse his son, in the sense of causing misfortune to befall his own offspring. Rather, writes Samson Raphael Hirsh, Noah simply announced that Canaam was doomed. "

Dov then goes on to describe how the "curse" served to justify enslaving black people, and cites Ibn Ezra (Avraham Ben Meir Ibn Ezra mi Tudela, 1092 - 1167, poet, grammarian, Torah commentator) counter-arguing. The point both Ibn Ezra and Dov make is that it was unethical, and based on inaccurate reading.

Dov ends with "So the idea that Noah's curse made Canaan's skin turn black -and black Africans into slaves - appears to be defeated by the text itself.".

It's a good post. Read it.
After you finished reading me, of course.


The main reason I bring up Dov Bear's post is because it reminded me of a story my auntie told me, explaining why Arabs and Camels go together like hot sauce and grilled fish.
The story is from the area where she grew up before the war (Eastern Borneo).


TUNOLO

When light was first created, shards from that first light scattered across the universe, one of them going down in the west where the sand meets the sky. When it reached the earth, Tunolo (the Venerable Gentleman, also called Si Kadjeng Kilat Dene - Honourable Lord Elsewhere Spark) appeared out of it, being that light turned flesh.

After a time he mated with Si Puk Buwan Surim (Dark Moon Hagwoman, identified with Lilith), who gave birth to twins. The twins fought for supremacy; Si Neang Kang Muna (He Who Wanted Most) triumphed over Si Neang Kang Mara (He Who Angered Most).
The victor became the progenitor of the Arabs, the loser became the forefather of camels, (and since then Arabs ride camels).

Which explains perfectly why Arabs are inherently rapacious, and their kin the camels are always bad tempered.

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I should probably mention that non-Muslim natives from parts of Indonesia look upon Muslims and Arabs with a somewhat jaundiced eye.

Which is not surprising, given the record of Muslims enslaving tribals and destroying societies in that area, most particularly the Tausug and Illanon, but also the Bugis and coastal Malays. And please note that many Malay chiefs claim descent from Sharifan forefathers.

As explicatory haggadah, surely this is as valid as any other maise, no?

Except that it doesn't quite make clear who was cursed. Both seem to have a monkey on their back.
[Sorry, couldn't resist making that crack.]

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By the way, 'si' is a nomen praefix much used in Indonesian and Filippino languages. It has no real meaning of its own, but names seem bare without it. And it helps mark off names from the surrounding words.