Symbolism of ape
Cautions
against loss of individuality, pretending to be someone who you are
not, aping someone, being a copycat instead of your true self. A symbol
of malice and ugliness. The ape was a holy animal in ancient India, the
god Hanuman, as in the epic Ramayana. He is a symbol of strength,
loyalty, and self-sacrifice. In the Chinese Zodiac, the ape is the ninth
sign. The ape is the calendar symbol in ancient Mexican cultures,
lending its name (in Aztec Ozomatli, in Mayan Ba'tz) to the the day of
the month. The ape was a god of dance, and those born under this sign
were expected to become jugglers, pranksters, dancers, or singers. In
ancient Mexico, the ape represents the wind. In the ancient Mexican myth
of periodic "ends of the world", the second era or "sun," the wind-sun,
was ended by devastating tornadoes, and the humans of this era were
transformed into apes. Apes in chains represent the "devil" vanquished.
It is a symbol of insecurity and doubt about one's own role in life as
well as immodesty.