Caught Red-handedly

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There is a story I often heard from the early settlers of Mindanao (the southern group of Islands of the Philippines) about the way they caught monkeys. Monkeys abound in this Island and people caught them for food, a necessity for survival. The problem was only – how to catch monkeys, as they are agile creatures. My father used to shoot monkeys, which were climbing and jumping around the branches. When the riple is fired, the entire monkey population fell from the tree top to the ground in a huge thud. But, as he observed, it was difficult to catch one. Monkeys were caught, using a deep knowledge about their psyche. People would just get one or two coconuts and make a hole on the coconut shell, into which they put guavas or mangoes, and place the two coconut shells on a conspicuous place for the monkeys to see. Monkeys love guavas and mangoes. When they put their hands to grab what they thought to be unusual blessings, they are caught unaware of their predicament. Monkeys are basically selfish creatures. The idea of “letting go”, sacrifice is foreign to them. What they grab in their hands, they would not release. That is why they are caught red-handedly.