Understanding the
Monkey on Your Back
by Matomah Alesha
In ancient Egypt, apes (long-tailed monkeys and especially caped
baboons) were respected; Nubian tribes had to provide them as tribute,
and it was said ... that they understood human speech and could learn
better than many schoolchildren. Thoth (Djhuty), the god of wisdom,
though usually portrayed with the head of an ibis, also appears as an
old white caped baboon, sitting behind a scribe and overseeing his
transcription of important texts.1
In the West, we sometimes hear the phrase “having a monkey on
one's back.” Not surprisingly, the earliest documented use of this
phrase comes from ancient Kemet (Egypt). The first light of the monkey
myth begins with a powerful man who not only deeply influenced the
beliefs of ancient Kemet but went on to have a profound impact on the
philosophy, language and mysticism found in ancient Greece and Rome.
His name is Tehuti, also known as Djeheuti, Djhowtey and Zehuti.
Ancient Greeks and Romans called him Thoth and Hermes. Tehuti is the
great scholar, messenger, and deity of writing, wisdom and learning.
Tehuti, characterized with the head of a baboon, (sometimes an ibis) is
credited with inventing writing, mathematics, engineering, astrology and
the 365 day calendar in ancient Kemet. In the form of the baboon, he is
known to be the premier scribe and one who thinks well.1 The baboon
which is one of Tehuti's animal symbols connects him to the illustrious
and dutiful profession of scribes, divine measurement, magic and higher
learning. Tehuti represents pure genius in ancient Kemetic history. His
gifts were remarkable and far-reaching. He is known as a counselor and
mediator of the gods and an assistant to Ausar in judging the souls in
the underworld, also called Duat. As the symbol of the moon, his genius
helped to regulate civil society. With his trusty guide and servant
baboon mascot, Tehuti helped to create a renaissance of innovations and
insights that created ripples in every direction of the known world.
In ancient Kemet, the name of this baboon is called Hedj wer.
Monkey belong to the house of Sebek, in Kemetic pantheon. Sebek is the
crocodile god of the waters who is also a protector, a healer and a
force to invoke for vengeance. He is associated with Heru and is one of
the fiercest guardians of the underworld.
The sacred monkey totem in Kemet is depicted as a white-faced baboon,
sometimes shown looking over the shoulder of a diligent scribe.1 Some
images found in Kemet depict god Tehuti sitting and taking dictation
from a baboon seated on an altar. In the shape of the baboon, Tehuti
directs and watches over the diligent efforts and practices of the
scribe. The baboon is also a protector, inspirer and important guide of
the profession. Baboons are also servants of Tehuti, carrying out
important tasks, like monitoring the sprout of water clocks and guiding
the process of weighing the hearts of the deceased.2
These are important activities of a deity who is thought to be a great
measurer of all things. From the references provided it appears that
the baboon is one of the important animal guides of the profession of
scribe and those who are knowledge holders. Many professions in ancient
communities had guiding animal totems. For instance, the society of
chiefs could promote a lion or hawk guide, healers could have a dove
emblem, and warriors could have a tiger or a leopard as a guide.1
Monkey Hedj Wer is seen as a mighty magician
and skilled at reading all sorts of signs and hieroglyphics of the
most sublime type. Sometime the baboon and Tehuti were two distinct
persons but many illustrations show the two merged together, Tehuti as a
man with the head of a baboon and in some cases the baboon proving
itself a powerful icon of Tehuti himself. The baboons served the cause
of the scribes, and they are symbols of the most powerful scribe
himself, Tehuti. Baboons are the perfect reference because as simians
they are carriers and decipherer of natural laws and mystical signs that
was communicated to scribes. Also knowing how arduous the writing
profession can be when we consider the whole time-consuming business of
researching and organizing notes and images, a monkey on one's back points
to the passion and discipline one needs to organize and create books of
reference and quality, particularly in an era when all these things were
done by hand.
Early scribes were in a very time-consuming profession where most of
their time was divided between themselves, the blank page and their
various unseen inspirations. Writing is an all absorbing habit and
discipline that may suggest how the phrase, a monkey on one's back
first came about. But the monkey looking over one's shoulder or being on
one's back was not a negative sign but more of a symbol of inspiration
and connection to esoteric forms that where perceived as powerful and
sacred. For the profession of the scribe, the monkey guide was one of
the many types of unseen inspirations that encouraged this unique
profession. Not quite the beautiful woman muse that we are use to but a
muse nonetheless.
“There is a story in the Sinbad cycle about a tormenting ape-like
creature that mounts a man's shoulders and won't get off, which may be
the root of the term that we use today.” 1 Although it is
likely that the metaphor continues before ancient Kemet. It could be
even older but Kemet is where we see documentation of it emerging.
Unlike the Kemetic metaphor, the monkey on your back in the
Arabian Nights stories is not a good sign implicating the sacred art of
writing, sign reading, magic and measuring but a curse. It is one place
where the idea begins to degenerate from an auspicious sign to one of
foreboding. It is not clear if the monkey on the back is a form of
cursing in this reading, for monkeys in many mythologies all over the
world are servants to shamans and priests with decided more power. They
could be lone initiators but most sacred totemic beliefs provide a
powerful Mother or Father figure somewhere in the background. Meaning
they are usually working for somebody or on some great persons behalf.
They are usually sent or maybe a goddess or god in disguise. In the
Ramayana, Hanuman is the servant of Rama; in Kemet, Hedj Wer works on
behalf of Mara and Heru and in Asia, monkey scholars and scribes work on
behalf of Buddha and other like Oriental sages and wise ones. Thus a monkey
on one's back might be an initiatory stage for certain types who may
be connected in some way to ancient languages, story telling and
understanding sublime knowledge not accessible to others.
In 1860s, the term reappears again. This time it refers
to a person who is carrying rage, anger and resentment, which is like an
animal agitating their minds everyday. The images of the time support
this with men and women shown with a fierce creature causing
bewilderment, mental agitation, even madness. In the 1930s, the use
became popular in narcotic jargon. A person with a monkey on his back
is thought to be obsessive, addicted and even paranoid. It is definitely
a sign of a bad habit like taking drugs. It became the perfect symbol
for alcoholism and drug abuse. Don't let that be the monkey on your back,
drug rehabilitation
centers are always available to give you the help you deserve. From there it became increasingly a means
to describe a person who was focused in a negative preoccupation or
absorption into some activity or goal. Anything that is nefarious or
obsessive can be termed, having a monkey on one's back. Those who
are determined in purpose and convicted are called passionate and
focused but not bewildered by a bad presence sitting on one's
back. This is very far removed from the older Kemetic form of a benign
ape sharing wisdoms, deciphering sacred code and guiding the
construction of papyrus.
The original meaning connected to Tehuti, observes an ape looking
over one's shoulder as an important act that allowed incredible and
innovating cures, design and philosophy to emerge. The crafts of scribes
is a habit of diligence, dedication and love needed to cultivate
meaning, to reveal the hidden and to translate it into hieroglyphics,
signs, and colors. More recently, in Western culture, this habit has
become to suggest addiction, madness and obsession. It may be just
another example of ancient myths and symbols falling into ruin or it
could be insight into the hidden cycles and patterns of writers, one raw
genius, the other an addict. Both with a clamorous and fiesty monkey on
their back.
Sources:
- H-Net org
- Ancient
Egypt
- The Arabian Nights Entertainments by Andrew Lang and Richard
Francis Burton, Publication: Raleigh, N.C. Alex Catalogue,
ebook, netlibrary.com (1850)
- Word
Wizard
- Egypt
Epiphany
Matomah Alesha is a writer, artist, poet and an independent
researcher with an interest in native culture, ancient mythology and
goddess folklore. She has over ten years of experience as a researcher,
writer, freelance artist and in healing with goddess ritual and
mysticism. Born and raised in San Francisco, she now lives in Tucson, Arizona. For more information on the
mythology and folklore of sacred simians, see Sako
Ma: A Look at the Sacred Monkey Totem by Matomah Alesha, Matam
Press, 2004.
