SACRED ANIMALS 89 



Before passing on to the two remaining sacred animals on our 

 list, namely, the Hanuman Monkiey and the Fettered, Egyptian, 

 or Caffre Cat, it is as well to notice that in India several fossils 

 of Oxen have been found. The handsome Narbada Ox which 

 roamed about in the Narbada valley in days long since gone by 

 was one of these Indian Oxen, and it is worthy of special mention if 

 for no other reason because it was as large as the Aurochs (see 

 page 32). The typical Narbada Ox had cylindrical horns, but there 

 existed a second race whose members possessed more flattened appen- 

 dages, and thus resembled more closely those of the Indian Wild 

 Cattle existing at the present day. Then again, from still earlier 

 deposits there have been rescued the remains of the Sharp-Fronted 

 Ox, a tremendous beast which possessed horns of great length 

 "which swept upwards and outwards in a bold curve, and were 

 probably but little short of ten feet in span." 



HANUMAN MONKEY.— Beyond the Sacred or Humped Cattle 

 already treated of in this section, the Hanuman Monkey is entitled 

 to inclusion. Although unrepresented in the illustrations. Fig. 69 

 gives an example of thp Ceylonese Langur and serves to show 

 the kind of Monkey with which we are now concerned. This 

 species, true Wanderoo as we may call it, is a rare animal from 

 Ceylon, but, strictly speaking, it is the Hanuman Monkey that 

 may be regarded as the sacred beast. 



As will be observed from the species shown in the photograph, 

 the Langurs are an interesting genus. There are four different 

 kinds in India, and of these the Hanuman is the best known. 

 The chief outward characteristic is the hair-covering on the crown 

 of the head, for this radiates in all directions from a central point 

 situated on the forehead. 



Langurs have for long been regarded as sacred animals by 

 the Hindus, but whilst one writer states that the species now under 

 review takes its name from the God Hanumdn to whom it is sacred, 

 another authority says that "the Hanuman Monkey is supposed by 

 the Hindus to be a visible incarnation of the God Vishnu, and 

 consequently the temples dedicated to the God are happy havens 

 for the particular species. They simply swarm about the cities 

 and villages where Vishnu is worshipped. The beautiful carvings 

 of the temples and even the holiest idol shrines are defiled by the 

 jabbering creatures, who, not content with the offerings of the 

 faithful, rob orchards, pilfer from fruit stalls, and even enter shops 



