Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to the status of monkeys as sacred animals in Hinduism (see caption Hanuman, the monkey god below), they are protected, and in many cities they have become very bold, stealing fruit and other crops, and jumping through open windows into houses, where they make a terrible mess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to the status of monkeys as sacred animals in Hinduism (see caption Hanuman, the monkey god below), they are protected, and in many areas they have become very bold, stealing fruit and other crops, even in cities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, in a moment of thoughtlessness, his father promised one of his other wives that her son should inherit the throne for 14 years, and that Rama should be expelled from the kingdom in this period. Rama knew of no other law than to obey his father, and he spent his exile wandering about in the forests with his chosen one, Sita, and his half-brother, Lakshmana.

One day, Sita was abducted by Ravana, a 10-headed and 20-armed demon king from Sri Lanka. Hanuman, leader of the monkey army Vanara Sena, was a supporter of Rama, and he volunteered to go to Sri Lanka to negotiate Sita’s release.

It is told that during his stay in Sri Lanka, Hanuman stole mango fruits. For this sin, Ravana ordered him to be burned. Ravana’s soldiers tied a rag, soaked in oil, to his tail and set fire to it. During his attempt to extinguish the fire, Hanuman’s face and hands were blackened by the fire. The episode was noticed by the god of fire, Agni, who protected Hanuman from the heat, while the flaming tail, in retaliation, set many houses on fire. An enormous leap brought Hanuman back to India.

During the final battle, Rama managed to kill the evil demon king, and Sita was released. When the 14 years of exile had passed, Rama went home and assumed his throne.

As a reward for his services, Hanuman was raised to become a deity. He inspires strength in people, making him popular among men, whereas women generally regard him with mistrust, because he is unmarried. Due to the great deeds, performed by the monkey army in the Ramayana, monkeys are considered sacred among Hindus, and troops of rhesus monkeys, bonnet macaques, and langurs often live around temples, where part of their diet consists of rice, sweets, or other edibles, brought as offerings by devout Hindus.

Examples of temples with monkey troops are the Pashupatinath Temple on the shores of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, the Manakamana Kali Temple in central Nepal, the great Buddhist stupa Swayambhunath in Kathmandu, which also contains Hindu shrines, the Sri Minakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and the Buddhist temple atop Mount Popa, Myanmar.

The legend informs us that Hanuman is a langur, which has black face and hands, and thus not a macaque, which is uniformly brown. Nevertheless, macaques are sacred animals on par with langurs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A snake passing by heard them fighting and devised a plan. He offered to break it for them, but purposely made one a little larger than the other, and when he handed them the two pieces, the monkeys argued that they were not equal. The snake broke off a bit of the largest one and ate it himself, but now the other one was the largest, and the monkeys again argued that they were not equal. This was repeated, until nothing was left of the chapati, and the snake slithered away, leaving the greedy monkeys with nothing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun Wu-kong is variously regarded as a deity or a mythological figure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The god Babi was depicted as a bloodthirsty and sexually potent baboon, ruling in the underworld.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The medicines cured headaches and stomach ills, but were also a powerful charm against evil. The baboon was regarded as a symbol of protection, because it self-medicated with plant roots. (Source: theconversation.com)

 

 

 

 

 

When a passenger reported a baboon handling the switches, railway officials investigated. Instead of dismissing Wide, they tested Jack’s skills and discovered that he could correctly follow whistle signals and operate the levers with precision. Impressed, the railway officially hired Jack, giving him an employment number, a daily wage of 20 cents, and a weekly beer allowance.

For nine years, Jack never made a single mistake. He passed away in 1890 from tuberculosis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I have come to you, because Mouse has torn in my clothes, but pretends not to have done it, accusing Cat. But Cat also denies, saying that Dog must have done it. Dog also denies, declaring that Wood has done it. Wood blames Fire, but Fire says that Water did it, and Water says that Elephant tore the clothes. Elephant says that Ant did it. Therefore, a dispute has arisen among them, and I suggest that we assemble the people and try them, so that I may get satisfaction.”

Accordingly, Baboon assembled the people for trial, but they all gave the same explanation, putting the blame upon another.

Baboon then said to Mouse: “Mouse, give Itkler satisfaction.”

Mouse, however, pleaded not guilty, and Baboon saw no other way than to make them punish each other. He said, “Cat, bite Mouse.” And she did so.

He then told Cat to give Itkler satisfaction, but she also denied. Baboon said, “Dog, bite Cat.”

In this manner, Baboon questioned them all, but they all denied the charge. So Dog was beaten by Wood, who was burned by Fire, who was drowned by Water, who was drunk by Elephant, who was bitten in his most tender parts by Ant.

Since that day, they can no longer agree with each other.

Through this judgement, Itkler got satisfaction and told Baboon:

“Yes, now I am content, since I have received satisfaction, and with all my heart I thank you, because you have exercized justice on my behalf.”

 

 

 

One day they met Cagn’s son Cogaz, who had been sent by his father into the bush to collect sticks to make bows.

“Oh ho!” they jeered, dancing around the boy, ”your father thinks he is so clever, making bows to kill us. We will kill you instead.”

So they killed poor Cogaz and tied him to the top of a tree, and then danced around it, singing, “Cagn thinks he is clever!”

Cagn, who was asleep, awoke and sensed that there was something wrong. He called to his wife Coti to bring him his magic charms. He then rubbed some magic on his nose and went into a trance, but suddenly jumped up.

“The little hairy men have hanged Cogaz,” he said, and off he went to where the little creatures were dancing and making a noise. When they saw him coming they became frightened and changed their chant, but a little girl said, “Don’t sing that way, sing it the way you were singing before.”

And Cagn ordered, “Sing as the little girl wishes,” and they were obliged to sing and dance as before.

Cagn said, “Yes, that is the song I heard. Go on dancing, until I return.”

He fetched a basket, filled with short grass ropes, and went back. They were still dancing, raising clouds of dust.

Using magic, Cagn fixed a grass rope above the buttocks of each of the little men, making them all bound off into the mountains, barking and leaping with their new hairy tails sticking up behind. Here they now live on roots, beetles, and scorpions, scratch fleas, and chatter nonsense forever.

But Cagn climbed up into the tree, took down Cogaz, and by magic restored him to life.

 

 

 

A few days later, Tortoise invites Baboon to dinner at his home, but prior to cooking a delicious meal, he has purposely burned a large patch of grass, which has become blackened by the ashes. He then places the pot in the middle of this patch, and when Baboon arrives, Tortoise says, “Your hands are filthy and black! You cannot eat with me until you wash them.”

Baboon runs to the river, washes his paws, and runs back. However, crossing the burned grass blackens his paws all over again, and Tortoise again refuses to let him eat. In this way, Baboon goes back and forth to the river several times, and meanwhile Tortoise has eaten the entire meal himself.

 

 

 

Crocodile now invites Baboon for a ride on his back across the river. Baboon, suspecting no mischief, accepts the invitation, but once they reach the deep center, Crocodile relates what the healer told him. Baboon of course gets terrified, but thinking quickly, he laughs and says: “Oh, my dear friend! Why didn’t you tell me before now? We baboons never travel with our hearts. We leave them hanging safely in the branches of the baobab tree so they don’t get damaged! Take me back, and I will happily give it to you.”

The dim-witted Crocodile believes him and swims back to the shore. The moment they touch land, Baboon scrambles up the highest tree, and, safely out of reach, he curses Crocodile for his betrayal and foolishness.