Thursday, June 22, 2006

Tailing a monkey man in search of healing powers

Thousands of people are flocking to an impoverished Indian village in eastern West Bengal state to worship a man they believe possesses divine powers because he climbs up trees in seconds, gobbles up bananas and has a "tail."

Devotees say 27-year-old villager Chandre Oraon is an incarnation of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman - worshipped by millions as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance and devotion.

He climbs up trees, behaves like a monkey and is a strict vegetarian, but he is no god and his condition is just a congenital defect," says Bhushan Chakraborty, the local medical officer.

Doctors said the "tail" - made up of some flesh but mostly of dark hair - was simply a rare physical attribute.

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