22nd February, 2014
Akin Obasa
Two men are being worshipped in India as incarnations of Hanuman the monkey deity because they have tails and enjoy monkey-like activities.
Apart from having the same first name and similar surnames, Chandre Oram and Chandre Oraon have a lot of other things in common. For one, they are both Indians; from West Bengal. And they are both tea pickers in their 30s.
But most significantly, they were both born with extensions to their backs, which their compatriots believe are tails. And because of this, they are both worshipped as incarnations of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey deity.
Chandre Oram, who works in a tea estate and lives in Alipurduar district of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, owes his fame to a 13-inch long tail and being born on a date known as Rama Navami, which is the birthday of legendary Hindu King Rama, who is considered to be an incarnation of God. According to the Holy book of Ramayana, Hanuman was devoted to Rama, and helped him rescue his wife, Sita, who was being held captive by an evil king.
Because of his claimed fondness for monkey-like behaviour such as eating bananas, jumping and climbing trees, Oram is the toast of many people, who visit him to receive his blessings. This has made him to set up a shrine in honour of Hanuman, on top of which there is a red silk flag, Hanuman’s symbol. And some of his followers claim miraculous healings of severe ailments after touching his tail.
Oram has refused to undergo operation to remove his tail and members of his family say he could not live without it. But the tail has proven costly to him romance-wise, as he says about 20 women have rejected his offers of marriage. Stoic about this, Oram says: “I have decided to marry the woman who accepts me and my tail. Or else, I’ll remain a bachelor like Hanuman.”
In his own case, Chandre Oraon, a tea picker from Alipurduar, West Bengal, has refused to cut a patch of hair on his lower back that he was born with. It makes superstitious people believe that it is a tail and that he is an incarnation of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey deity. Because of this, worshippers travel hundreds of miles to queue up outside his house to seek blessings by touching his tail, which is now 14.5 inches long.
Said Oraon: “I am Hanuman. People have a lot of respect for me because of my tail. I don’t mind the tail at all. It is a gift by God.”
His followers see his ability to climb trees as proof that he is Hanuman, and believe he has healing powers and attribute to him many miracle cures. One of them, Monika Lakda, who travelled many miles to see Oraon at his makeshift shrine, said: “My brother’s son was once very unwell and had fever. We gave him medicine but it did not work. So we came to Chandre to seek his blessings. The baby recovered soon after that. We believe that Chandre is an incarnation of Hanuman. They say he was born on the Holy Hanuman day. So we have faith in him.”
Doctors have offered to have the long tail removed, something which Oraon has vehemently resisted. And for good reason too. “Once my mother chopped of my tail when I was young. Soon after, I got a high fever and I was very sick. My mother told me that I almost died. After that, everyone said I must keep the tail. My family said they felt me getting sick was a sign that my tail was divine,” he said.
Baldev Ram, Oraon’s uncle, said: “With age, his tail has also been growing longer. So, we realised very early that he has the blessings of God.”
Despite having found fame, however, Oraon said it wasn’t always easy: “When I was young, kids in the village used to make fun of me and my tail. They used to laugh. They used to pull my tail just for fun.”
And like Oram, he recalls that over 20 women rejected his romantic advances. “A few women rejected my proposals. I had gone to see a girl once. She immediately noticed that I have a tail. She refused to marry me there and then. She said to my face it was because of my tail.”
But in his own case, Oraon met Maino, now 38, who became his wife in 2007. They now have a five-year-old daughter.
Now, Oraon plans to build his own temple so he can offer mass blessings: “I want to build a temple. But I am a poor man, so I am looking for some help. I work but then I don’t earn much, so I need to find other ways to fund my dream.”
Both Oram and Oraon may enjoy the adulation of people who worship them as the incarnation of Hannuman the monkey deity, but medical scientists say their tails are a result of a birth defect, which can result in lower-back growths.
According to physicians, the tail Oram has is not a real tail, but a congenital malformation known as spina bifida, in this case of the rare meningocele category.
It is possible for human embryos to develop a real tail, as the genes which cause it still exist in many people. However, the probability of this gene expressing is very low: it can happen because of rare recessive gene coupling, or some form of mutation that brings the gene back to a dominant place. That is why very few cases have been recorded in the history of medicine.
The presence of these kinds of vestigial structures is known as an atavism. When a human embryo develops a true tail, it is located as a prolongation of the coccyx, just like the tail of a dog or a monkey. Oram’s tail emerges from his lumbar region, which is a clear sign that it is caused by split spine. The tail consists of a 13-inch long and 1-inch thick appendix to the bone of the spine. It is covered by lots of hair.
In Oraon’s case, the congenital defect manifests in a tuft of hair, which can grow into a tail if left uncut. The condition occurs when the spinal column does not close all of the way down – it is one of the most common permanently disabling birth defects. A spokesperson for Shine, a spina bifida charity, said it is quite common for children with spina bifida to have a hairy patch on their back.
As long as they continue to enjoy good health, both Chandres will continue to wallow in the widespread adulation they enjoy; and will continue to find any talk of cutting off their tails anathema.