Who is Hanuman, the Hindu god with the face of a monkey?

Hanuman has the face of a monkey and the body of a man, a golden crown, and a long tail that follows his every move. The Hindu god is often depicted with his chest ripped open to reveal an image of Rama—the embodiment of dharma and the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu, the god of preservation and time.

After thousands of years, Hanuman is still revered in Hindu culture today. The new movie Monkey Man is inspired by the legend of Hanuman, with Dev Patel’s character embodying the god’s loyalty and devotion as he avenges his mother’s death. 

Hanuman’s origins

Also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Ajaney, Hanuman is much more than a monkey god—he’s the god of courage, strength, and self-discipline. Hanuman plays a central role in the Ramayana, one of the largest ancient epics ever written.

The Ramayana, attributed to Sage Valmiki, is the oldest text referring to the monkey god. Scholars estimate that it was written around the 3rd century B.C. The epic follows the exiled Prince Rama as he travels across the ocean to rescue his wife Sita from the evil king Ravana.

Hanuman has many stories in the text, but perhaps his most well-known feat is leading an army of monkeys to help Rama rescue Sita. Hanuman is also mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, and Puranas, a Hindu literature genre covering legends and other lore.

The Hanuman Purana, the story of Hanuman’s birth, names Vayu, the god of the wind, as the monkey god’s father. Hanuman’s mother, Anjana, was an apsara (like a nymph or fairy) who was transformed into a monkey by an angry sage. The sage said Anjana could return to her original form if she birthed a powerful son. She was successful with Hanuman, whose strength apparent since childhood.

In one of Hanuman’s most well-known stories, he leaps into the sky at sunrise, thinking the sun is a yellow ball or ripe fruit.

In Valmiki’s Ramayana, the king of gods Indra struck the monkey god with his thunderbolt to knock Hanuman out of the sky. The bolt hit him on the jaw, and he fell to the Earth dead. Vayu, angered by what Indra did to his son, took all the air from Earth, leaving all living things to suffer. Only when Shiva, the god of time and destruction and one of the principal deities of Hinduism, resuscitated Hanuman, did Vayu return air to the planet. Indra, realizing his mistake, granted Hanuman a wish that his body be as strong as his vajra (thunderbolt), and also granted Hanuman immunity to the bolts.

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Other gods have also granted Hanuman wishes, including additional immunity to damage from fire, wind, and water. He was also granted immortality, allowing him to eventually become a strong, skilled warrior who played a crucial role in the Ramayana. Valmiki's version of the Ramayana recounts how during battle, Hanuman carried an entire mountain peak from the Himalayas just to deliver some herbs to heal soldiers on the battlefield.

Despite his successes and immortal status, Hanuman is characterized by humility and selflessness, completely devoted to Rama throughout the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas. 

The significance of animals in the Hindu pantheon

In popular depictions, Hanuman often appears as a monkey with a red face, with the color representing his devotion to Rama. Hanuman (or gray) langurs are native to the subcontinent and are regarded as sacred. The dark coloration on their faces and hands call to mind the burns that Hanuman suffered on his adventures.

Animals hold a revered place in the Hindu pantheon. Ganesh, the elephant-headed god of prosperity and wisdom, and Narasimha and Hayagriva, the respective lion and horse-headed avatars of Vishnu, are even more prominent examples of god-animal identities.

“The boundaries between gods, animals, and humans are malleable and fluid,” says Ankur Barua, a senior lecturer in Hindu Studies at the University of Cambridge. “There can be sacredness not just in the human form, but in the animal and plant forms, all forms of living beings.”

Hanuman in Indo-Caribbean communities

For Indo-Caribbean communities, the stories of Hanuman and Rama echo history.

Despite Rama being forced to live in exile, Hanuman remained a loyal devotee. “Because we’re a people that were displaced from our homeland and sent to the Caribbean, we connect to the story differently and see Hanuman as the epitome of a devotee,” says Vinay Harrichan, the founder of Cutlass Magazine, a publication dedicated to the Indo-Caribbean community.

Hanuman’s dualities, of peace and ferocity, playfulness and protectiveness, also reflect Indo-Caribbean history. “When [Hinduism] made its way to the Caribbean, it suddenly became a minority religion with colonialism and the impact of missionaries,” Harrichan says. “One thing that was always central in Indo-Caribbean Hinduism was that we are a peaceful, loving, accepting people, but we're also fierce in protecting our beliefs and the things that we hold sacred.”

Every year, most Indo-Caribbean Hindu households hold a Hanuman puja, praying for prosperity and health. As part of the ritual, they erect a red flag on their property, showing that Hanuman has blessed the family and land.