Mesoamerican cultures saw animals as sacred entities, ancestors and beings who shared physical, soul-related and sexual characteristics with humans. Among non-domesticated animals, the monkey is highlighted given its intense symbolic meaning, since it carries aspects linked to deities such as Quetzalcóatl (in his persona of Ehécatl, god of the wind) and Xochipilli (god of flowers), as well as eroticism, transgression, the arts, wild life, fertility, excess and many other referents. The monkey is not represented uniformly, and varies from region to region, historical period and ritual function, which shows a rich symbolism which transcends mere zoological observation. Nahua and Maya myths give the monkey a fundamental role in the dynamics of chaos and order inherent to humanity’s generative processes.
According to the ancient Nahua, during the fourth sun, Ehecatonatiuh or Wind Sun, men ate the fruit of the mizquitl (mesquite, Prosopis) tree and died because of storms and gusts of wind, and were turned into monkeys and spread among the forests.
In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiché Maya, turning into monkeys is told as a punishment of the wood men for not worshipping the god creator. In a Popoluca myth more recently, after the flood, Christ turns the heads of the people, throws them to the trees and the heads turn into monkeys. These stories of past eras profile the monkey as a pre-human being, wild and errant, punished for eating prohibited food or for disobeying divine rules. Its rupture with the sacred order is expressed by moving into the forest, a space ripe with transgression and animality.
During the Colonial period, the monkey was associated with the Devil, and consequently, with excesses, lust and sins, in contrast with Christian values. This vision, rooted in medieval times, still persists within some cultures, and the symbolism of the monkey is not limited to transgression, deception and wildness. From Pre-Hispanic times, it also appears in contexts linked to fertility and the arts, particularly in Mayan areas. The eleventh sign of the tonalpohualli (divinatory calendar of 260 days) coincides with the Ozomatli day, 11-Monkey, related to Xochipilli, god of art, music, flowers, dance and sexual pleasure. Even though both the god and the monkey share features like sexual excess, they also bring together vitality, play and fertility. In this sense, the monkey’s belly symbolizes fertility and abundance, which extends the symbol to pregnant women.
In some dances and carnivals today, the monkey still shows up as a funny, mischievous figure who also criticizes society. The monkey does not lose its fertile and lustful character which leads to the creation of life. Its liminal condition turns it into an emblem of chaos, which is needed to renew order.