The Signifying Monkey
"The Monkey of the Mind knows that human beings had a hand in articulating the world they inhabit and so knows that human beings can remake it when they need to. To wake that Monkey is to wake the possibility of playing with the joints of creation, the possibility of art" (Hyde 280).
The tale of the Signifying Monkey is an African trickster story. Monkey taunts lion and uses lion's strength, ego and attachment to the way things are the the way they should be against him. Lion's inability to adapt and flow with Monkey leads him to seek out Elephant, who beats him into a bloody pulp. Meanwhile, Monkey sits happily and playfully and safely in a tree, watching it all happen. On the surface it appears that Monkey is the weakest of the group. He certainly doesn't have the physical strength or intimidating presence of either Elephant of Lion, and yet he ends up on top, and in most versions of the story entirely unscathed. So what is this quality that Monkey has and how can we use that in cultural fieldwork when we are up against the Lions of Neoliberalism, Capitalism, Massive Corporations, Racism in a world that likes to think of itself as post racial, a failing education system and a prison system that is bursting at the seems and expanding every year? In a word, Monkey is a trickster. He finds the hidden pathways. He attacks the joints, the weak spots in the armor. He knows where to look for those weak spots, and he lubricates his attacks with play and humor. We have a lot to learn from Monkey.
In the tale of the Signifying Monkey, capoeira is the monkey.
The tale of the Signifying Monkey is an African trickster story. Monkey taunts lion and uses lion's strength, ego and attachment to the way things are the the way they should be against him. Lion's inability to adapt and flow with Monkey leads him to seek out Elephant, who beats him into a bloody pulp. Meanwhile, Monkey sits happily and playfully and safely in a tree, watching it all happen. On the surface it appears that Monkey is the weakest of the group. He certainly doesn't have the physical strength or intimidating presence of either Elephant of Lion, and yet he ends up on top, and in most versions of the story entirely unscathed. So what is this quality that Monkey has and how can we use that in cultural fieldwork when we are up against the Lions of Neoliberalism, Capitalism, Massive Corporations, Racism in a world that likes to think of itself as post racial, a failing education system and a prison system that is bursting at the seems and expanding every year? In a word, Monkey is a trickster. He finds the hidden pathways. He attacks the joints, the weak spots in the armor. He knows where to look for those weak spots, and he lubricates his attacks with play and humor. We have a lot to learn from Monkey.
In the tale of the Signifying Monkey, capoeira is the monkey.
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