I like monkeys. Maybe that’s why I chose Hanuman, the simian-faced strongman of Indian myth, to be our household spirit.
Hanuman is strong, and strength is always good in a presiding spirit, but he also represents devotion: in the Ramayana, Hanuman came to the aid of Rama who went in search of Sita, his beloved, who had been kidnapped by a demon. The story of Hanuman is also retold in the Mahabharata, the best known of the Hindu epics, as well as the Puranas and very ancient Jain texts.
Being a food guy, I find the most appealing aspect of Hanuman to be that he brought spices to India. The story goes that Rama sent the monkey king from Sri Lanka to fetch a healing herb from a mountain in the Himalayas. Hanuman couldn’t figure out which herb on the mountain was the one he needed, so he took the whole mountain back to Sri Lanka. As Hanuman flew south, herbs fall off the mountain all over India, thus propagating a wide range of spices on the subcontinent.
I like Hanuman’s story, and the food connection is really all I need to elect him as our household spirit. He represents worthy virtues, and he made it possible for Indian cuisine to be even tastier.
Hail Hanuman!
