In Genesis, Ham sees Noah uncovered in his tent and tells his brothers.
Genesis 9:20–23 says Noah becomes drunk after planting a vineyard. Ham, identified as the father of Canaan, sees Noah’s nakedness and reports it to Shem and Japheth. The two brothers then cover Noah while carefully avoiding looking at him.
The passage continues with Noah cursing Canaan, Ham’s son, rather than explicitly cursing Ham. This distinction is important and has often been overlooked in popular retellings. The text does not say that Ham himself is cursed in the same wording.
Later interpreters developed the so-called “Curse of Ham,” and the passage was misused historically to justify racism and slavery. Those later interpretations should not be confused with the names and actions actually stated in Genesis.