Cultural appropriation is the new game played in the studios, and the snowflakes are not taking kindly to it. One must not simply name check Hanuman in a film, without acknowledging the scores of Hindus responding adversely to it. I mean, what does an isolated African paradise have to do with the revered monkey god?
Personally, I think the link is great, and could make for an interesting spin off (Hollywood take note). Could Hanuman and his army have actually found Wakanda?
The Jabari tribe and Hanuman
A few ears would have perked up during that line in the Black Panther film. “Glory to Hanuman.” Roughly translated from, “Jai Hanuman.” That is an utterance typically found on the tongues of Hanuman’s worshippers. The famous deity is best known for leading the monkey army into Ravana’s Lanka to fight alongside another popular Hindu god, Rama, in the Ramayana.
It was a line that caused quite a stir, with cinemas in India reportedly bleeping it out. But it was not in any way disrespectful, and it actually made quite a bit of sense considering the other cultural elements that are emblematic of Hanuman and his followers.
Take for example the fact that M’Baku, the great Jabari warrior who went toe-to-toe with T’Challa in that epic waterfall duel, mentions that he is vegetarian (although monkeys are technically omnivorous, but who’s fact checking?).
The Hindu population, in general, is largely meat-free, so it looks as though the crew did their research well, furthering the evidence that this was not a mindless mention, but a well-thought-out backstory.
One can also point to his choice of weapon on the battle field; a knobkierie club. According to ancient Indian scriptures, the monkey god wielded a massive one himself (think Mjölnir, but a pure gold, bulbous version). M’Baku’s club’s head, however, was drastically smaller than the one often seen on Hanuman posters or paintings, but it’s like an iPhone X in comparison to the old Sony Eriksen ‘brick phones’: a sleeker, more modern version.
Possible events leading to the Jabari settling in Wakanda
After Rama was crowned king of Ayodhya, following victory in Lanka, Hanuman reportedly returned to his sanctum in the Himalayas. Thereafter, he appears in a number of other fables and legends, including the Mahabharata, with some suggesting that he can be found alive today.
But what if M’Baku’s ancestor was among the monkey army that fought for Hanuman? And suppose, after the Lanka affair, he led a small band of loyalists across the ocean to the shores of Africa?
If you see where I am going with this, then, logically, it could be concluded that M’Baku’s forefathers were actually among the first ones to come across the pre-vibranium Wakanda, back in the hunter-gatherer days. It would make sense that they regrouped under the banner of the “White Gorilla” cult and joined hands with the other cults, including Panther, to set the Wakandan affairs in order.
Modern day Jabari
The White Gorilla cult would surely have been incensed when the first Black Panther emerged after taking in the essence of the heart-shaped, vibranium-infused, herb, which leads us to the modern day feud between T’Challa and M’Baku, who revived the previously outlawed Jabari tribe while King T’Chaka’s son was in the United States, and challenged T’Challa on a number of policies, including use of technology.
