Mothers know who their sons are and so can preferentially resist their (very rare) sexual advances. But fathers are not sure who their daughters are, and vice versa. Thus, when a female comes of age in a small group, there’s a significant chance of an incestuous union, further inbreeding, more infant mortality, and fewer of their genetic sequences passed on to future generations. So around the time of first ovulation, a female often feels an inexplicable urge to visit the neighboring territory. This can be a dangerous undertaking, as she probably understands full well. The compulsion, then, must be strong, which in turn underscores the evolutionary importance of her mission. Combine this not uncommon itch to wander at first ovulation with the rarity of brother-sister and, especially, mother-son unions and it’s clear that a high-priority, well-functioning incest taboo is operating among the chimps.
There’s one aspect of chimpanzee territoriality not shared by other apes—all of whom are divided into territorial, xenophobic groups, with a little exogamy thrown in: Unlike encounters within the group, where bluff and intimidation play major roles and only rarely does anyone get seriously hurt, when two chimp groups interact there can be real violence. No main force combat has ever been observed. They prefer guerrilla tactics. One group will pick off the members of the other in ones and twos until there’s no longer a viable force left to defend the adjacent territory. Chimpanzee groups are constantly skirmishing to see if it’s possible to annex more turf. If the penalty for failure in combat is death for the males and alien sexual bondage for the females, the males soon find themselves caught up in a powerful selection for military skills. Genes for those skills must have been racing through the tropical forests, by exogamous mating, until nearly all chimps had them. If they didn’t, they died.
Moreover, the skills that make you good on patrol and good in skirmishes also make you good in the hunt. If your combat skills are honed, you can also supply your friends, loved ones, and concubines—to say nothing of yourself—with more of that delicious red meat. Except for the part about the good eating, being a male chimp is a little like being in the army.
* “[An ape’s] face resembles that of a man in many respects … [I]t has similar nostrils and ears, and teeth like those of man, both front teeth and molars … [I]t has hands and fingers and nails like man, only that all these parts are somewhat more beastlike in appearance. Its feet are exceptional. . like large hands … [T]he internal organs are found on dissection to correspond to those of man”4* Savage also wrote the first systematic account of gorillas in the wild, and was responsible for the modern use of the ancient North African word “gorilla”. He took pains to repudiate popular notions of gorillas carrying off attractive women for unspeakable purposes—the theme echoed a century later to enormous public acclaim in the motion picture King Kong.* The soldiers of Alexander the Great—not otherwise known for their prudishness—are said, in their India campaign, to have put monkeys to death for their “lasciviousness.”13* Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in 1753, had gone further and classified chimps and men as members of the same species, the power of speech being at the beginning, in his view, not “natural to man.”15 Congreve had toyed with something similar.* A young mother will not usually come again into estrus until she weans her infant. The little one, understandably enough, may interpret weaning as rejection. The mother’s renewed sexual interest in adult (and sub-adult) males probably compounds the infant’s agony and resentment. Perhaps we also share the Oedipus complex with the apes.
Chapter 16
LIVES OF THE APES
I hear the apes howl sadly
In dark mountains.
The blue river
Flows swiftly through the night.
MENG HAU-RAN
(Tang Dynasty, early 730s),
“Written for Old Friends in
Yang-jou City While Spending the
Night on the Tung-lu River”1
The alpha male is sitting bolt upright, jaw set, staring confidently into middle distance. The hair on his head, shoulders, and back is standing on end, which gives him an even more imposing aspect. Before him crouches a subordinate, in a bow so deep that his gaze must be fixed on the few tufts of grass directly before him. If these were humans, this posture would be recognized as much more than deference. This is abject submission. This is abasement. This is groveling. The alpha’s feet may, in fact, be kissed. The supplicant could be a vanquished provincial chieftain at the foot of the Chinese or Ottoman Emperor, or a tenth-century Catholic priest before the Bishop of Rome, or an awed ambassador of a tributary people in the presence of Pharaoh.2
Calm and assured, the alpha male does not scowl at his nearly prostrate subordinate. Instead, he reaches out and touches him on the shoulder or head. The lower-ranking male slowly rises, reassured. Alpha ambles off, touching, patting, hugging, occasionally kissing those he encounters. Many reach out their arms and beg for contact, however brief. Almost all—from highest to lowest rank—are visibly buoyed by this king’s touch. Anxiety is relieved, perhaps even minor illnesses cured, by the laying-on of hands.
Regal touching, one after the other, in a sea of outstretched hands seems familiar enough to us—reminiscent, say, of the President striding down the central aisle of the House of Representatives just before the State of the Union address, especially when he’s riding high in the polls. The future King Edward VIII on his world tour, Senator Robert Kennpdy in his presidential campaign, and countless other political leaders have returned home black and blue from the grasp of their enthusiastic followers.
The alpha male will intervene to prevent conflict, especially between hotheaded young males pumped up on testosterone, or when aggression is directed at infants or juveniles. Sometimes a withering glance will suffice. Sometimes the alpha will charge the pair and force them apart. Generally, he approaches with a swagger, arms akimbo. It’s hard not to see here the rudiments of government administration of justice. As in all primate leadership positions, an alpha male must accept certain obligations. In return for deference and respect, for sexual and dining privileges, he must render services to the community, both practical and symbolic. He adopts an impressive demeanor, even something approaching pomp, in part because his subordinates demand it of him. They crave reassurance. They are natural followers. They have an irresistible need to be led.
Beyond the reaching out of hands there are many styles of submission, of which the most common is, in the scientific literature, demurely called “presenting.” What is it that’s being presented? The subordinate animal, male or female—but here we’re discussing males in the dominance hierarchy—wishing to pay its respects to the alpha male crouches down and elevates its anogenital region toward the leader, moving its tail out of the way. It sometimes gives a little bump and grind. It may whimper and, grinning over its shoulder, approach the alpha, raised rump first. The subordinate’s need to pay respect in this manner is so great that it may even present to an alpha who’s fast asleep.
The alpha (if awake) moves forward, grasps the submissive animal from behind, closely embraces it, and not infrequently makes a few pelvic thrusts. Since this is the invariable posture and motion of chimp copulation, there can be no mistaking the symbolic significance of the exchange: The subordinate animal asks please to be fucked, and the dominant animal, perhaps a little reluctantly, complies.