I don’t know how much you know about Hanuman, the Monkey God of the Hindu pantheon, but he is a popular deity who may actually predate Hinduism. Stories about him vary, even within Hindu tradition, but he is considered to be one of the good guys.
Today in Bengal, there is a 13 year old boy who is being worshipped as a reincarnation of Hanuman because he was born with a tail. I really can’t see the resemblance, but then I wasn’t raised in the Hindu tradition.
Pilgrims to his home have credited him with various miracles, including “curing” several young couples who had been unable to conceive.
Whatever his supernatural powers might be, his natural gifts are limited. The condition that gave him his tail – probably a rare form of spina bifuda – leave him unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair.
I find it interesting that in India he is sought out and glorified. I suspect that here in the “enlightened” West, he would more likely be the object of pity or even ridicule.
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