Why did Noah Curse Canaan and not Ham when it was Ham who did wrong?

Genesis 9:

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

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18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)

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God blessed Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Canaan was the grandson of Noah.

20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.

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Noah wasn't behaving righteously.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan,

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Again, Canaan was mentioned even though he was doing nothing here.

saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,

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Noah didn't like what Ham did. He felt disrespected by his son.

25 he said,
“Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

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Why didn't Noah curse Ham?

Canaan didn't do anything except be a son of Ham. The so-called curse was actually a prophecy. At the beginning of this chapter, God had already blessed Ham, and Ham didn't commit any great sin. God was not going to curse Ham. Instead, God used this occasion to pronounce a prophecy against Canaan. This prophecy was very relevant to the Israelites at the time of Exodus:

1. They had left Egypt, which was somewhat cursed because he was a son of Ham.
2. Israel is blessed by Noah through Shem, their ancestor.
3. They are about to conquer Canaan, fulfilling the prophecy spoken by Noah.

If you were an Israelite at that time, Genesis 9 made a lot of sense, and you felt that you were making history, fulfilling God's word.

26 He also said,
“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.

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The Israelites read this as they, the descendants of Shem, fulfilled the prophecy by defeating the Canaanites.

Why did Noah curse Canaan and not Ham?

Right after the flood, God blessed Ham already. Later, God used the incident of Noah's nakedness to pronounce a judgment/curse against Canaan, a son of Ham.