For some reason, I have a great time writing this stuff out when I'm on the train to and from Seattle.
The following is sociological rambling, like before, since folktales aren't actually the best way of directly conveying info like this. There will probably be folktales that come out of this stuff, though. "Monkey" is used as a shorthand for the god herself and the actual Monkeys, from low-grade grunts to regional royalty.
Probably a surprise to the Cholaeics, the Monkeys are thought of as adjuticators of balance---domestic, civil, and regional---in traditional Gaetani society (the capitol city is another story).
A traditional image for Monkey and her kind is a reversible or radiating tree, where the roots are styled identically to the branches; two images of Monkey (female) will flank its circumference, one climbing "up", one climbing "down." Lest anybody think otherwise, the monkeys are rotating the tree, not the other way around. In this way Monkey is a bit of a Dame Fortune character. Whereas the Wheel of Fortune is just an endless round, however, the Monkey Tree suggests active and literal uprooting. This can mean the emergence of an individual or a thing from darkness and obscurity into the light, or it can mean the ripping up of a stable, rooted thing.
Since women are somewhat less powerful than men in Gaetani society -- something Monkey has always been displeased about -- she is often accused of being partial to females. However, she turns away nobody who makes a good enough case. She also does not distinguish based on who is "liked"; if a valid case for upheaval is made against the most popular guy in town, she'll still set her mark.
Monkey is receptive to direct and personal appeals, both through her agents (generally Crones) or through prayers and offerings made at shrines. A shrine to Monkey can be just about anything and anywhere, and rarely stays a shrine for more than a few years; it might be a broken pot by the side of the road. Generally a shrine is designated when an agent or agents of Monkey are attracted to a local object and make physical contact with it frequently enough to become "marked." To inform the public of the shrine, a small, cruder version of the Monkey Tree will often be carved, drawn, or otherwise marked onto the object.
Shrine offerings are generally small objects of emotional power (a bone chip from a slaughtered animal, a stolen valuable, an ancient bead, etc), tiny splashes of alcohol, and the like. Offerings to Crones are generally more impressive, as speaking directly to a Crone means that one is especially serious about one's plea to Monkey. The bribe for Monkey's help can range from handy material things to the promise of enrolling either one's self or one's offspring into the service of Monkey permanently (rather like seeking a boon from a Mob don).
However, Monkey can also intercede unbidden, spurred by information gathered by her many eyes and hands.
WHAT DOES MONKEY ACTUALLY DO?
Community curses are probably the most commonamong these. "Monkey's Hand" is a direct equivalent to the Evil Eye, although there are no wards (as attempting to ward it will only get you in deeper trouble). If you brag too much, revel in too much fortune, abuse personal beauty, or attract too much attention, you open yourself up to legitimate curses, sanctioned and performed by either the resident Crone of a male proxy (the latter generally only if it requires serious violence, physical effort, or a particular trade skill).
The Crone will either witness or be visited with a grievance, and after negotatiating with the plaintiff will formulate a curse of a specificity determined by the Crone's cleverness, skill, and interest. (This is why it's good for a town to actively support and cultivate its Monkey middle-management; towns which don't create an inviting atmosphere are likely to inherit less capable, and therefore more broadly destructive members.) The best Crones can strike with impressive precision to destroy the imbalance, with a minimum of collateral damage.
LOCAL:
a beautiful girl turns down several solid offers of marriage.
an artisan charges ridiculous prices.
a husband frequents whores to the exclusion of his wife, who is fertile.
SOLUTION:
the plaintiff or a lower Monkey is told to bring an item of clothing, a comb, piece of jewelry, or either minor belonging of the girl. The Crone, through a combination of touch, ritual, and other means, will curse the object. The object is then secretly returned. The part of the girl's body which comes regularly in contact with it---her torso, her hair, her neck, her hands---will break out in a scarring skin disorder.
The artisan's establishment is damaged by arson, with repairs costing the equivalent of his collective overcharge.
The husband is boycotted by the whores for two weeks of every month. The whores are rewarded for this in a generally complicated and almost untraceable manner across the entire economic net of the village, leading back to the Crone's influences.
The first solution is Crone Magic; the second, sabotage by male Monkeys orchestrated by the Crone, the third, corporate action on the part of the village, manipulated by the Crone.
REGIONAL:
A serious power or resource imbalance between villages arises.
SOLUTION:
The male Monkeys, organized generally by their regional royals and priests, represent a potentially always mobile force. Although their corporate tenure is temporary at best, they can appear as raiders, support forces, saboteurs, and spies for the side while appeals to Monkey's interest. However, Monkeys are not warmongers, preferring the role of infiltrator, terrorist, and guerilla.
They will not destroy a settlement or population in its entirety, and generally if Monkeys appear to do damage, it's considered best to submit to the damage, lest you invoke the more dreadful sentence of Crow or Cow. In this way Monkey represents justice rather than revenge.
DOES MONKEY SELF-REGULATE?
Alas, the downside of being the self-declared arbiter of equilibrium is that internal standards have to be strict. Those who act out of vengefulness or pettiness will not do well. Because Monkey is a destructive force, it can certainly corrupt or act without purpose. Occasionally Monkey bemoans her hapless followers, and flattens them as appropriate; thus at certain times in Gaetani history, Monkeys have been quite rare within the population, reduced to a skeleton crew of males barely matching the female infrastructure in numbers. And at other times they're been downright shoulder-to-shoulder.
WHAT ARE THE UPS AND DOWNS OF JOINING UP?
It's a bit like being in the Mob---great protection, lower taxes, influences and perks. But you can always get whacked for stepping out of line---by a vengeful victim (known Monkeys can be victims of ill-advised reprisals), by a sacrifice demanded by Monkey, or simply by Monkey's will.
CAN YOU STOP?
The question would seem a little weird to most Gaetani. You could potentially be a Monkey and do little more than reverse somebody's doormat one spring morning, and maybe attend the annual picnic. Or it could be your entire life (ie prominent Crones, who are deposed Queens).
An isolated Monkey, particularly one of higher rank, will generally get a bit nervous: they will try to apply Monkey principles and actions to their current environment for fear of being labeled as rogue, and therefore a potential threat to balance, and therefore carrion.
To this end, most Monkeys travel under magical boon linking them with their current regional affiliation, generally the local Monkey King. Migratory Monkeys must make obeisance to at least a local Crone within a reasonable time frame in order to receive their boon, or else risk being tracked and captured.
OKAY, FINE, BUT HOW DOES MONKEY RELATE TO HIGHER GAETANI AUTHORITY?
Monkey tries to keep her head down as much as possible, operating almost entirely in low Gaetani culture. Generally she is viewed as a useful tool for self-regulation among the peasant classes; in the city, Monkey has for the most part been reduced to a sort of organized crime syndicate, which is generally tolerated as being preferable to the anarchic alternative.
Monkey is mostly kept track of (by which I mean benevolently ignored) by White Moon, as her focus lies in putting organization into chaos and chaos into organization. However, since Monkey through her followers dabbles in various Gaetani crafts and purposes, she has reason to run minor errands for all three Gods. However, she is by no means a beloved housepet, and tries to either behave or evade notice in order to keep about her business.
In short, Monkey's situation is just as delicately balanced as you might expect; on the one hand deeply rooted in Gaetani tradition, on the other maybe just a few steps away from being smoked by the Celestial Gods in order to clear the field.
