legends about monkey-human interbreeding are common. In Daoism, monkeys, particularly gibbons, were believed to have longevity like a xian "transcendent; immortal", and to be innately adept at circulating and absorbing qi "breath; life force" through the Daoist discipline of daoyin "guiding and pulling". Similar to Daoism, Chinese Buddhism paradoxically treats monkeys as both wise and foolish animals. On the one hand, the Jataka tales say that Gautama Buddha was a benevolent monkey king in an earlier incarnation; and on the other hand, monkeys symbolized trickery and ignorance, represented by the Chan Buddhist "mind monkey" metaphor for the unsettled, restless nature of human mentality. Monkeys are said to be worshipped in Togo. At Porto Novo, in Benin, twins have tutelary spirits in the shape of small monkeys (Thomas 1911, p. 52). The hamadryas baboon was sacred to the Ancient Egyptians and often appeared as a form of a deity. Egyptian deities depicted as baboons include Hapi (Son of Horus), Babi (mythology) and Thoth, although the latter is more often shown with the head of an ibis. A group of 6 or 8 baboons was also a common feature in scenes depicting the sun god at dawn as he rose over the horizon, with the baboons raising their hands to him in praise. This is probably inspired by the observed behaviour of baboons, as they are known to 'chatter' at sunrise as if greeting the sun. Hippopotamus In Ancient Egyptian religion, the hippopotamus had both positive and negative associations. On the one hand, the strong maternal instinct of female hippos led to the worship of several female hippo goddesses, usually as goddesses of pregnancy and motherhood, and protectors of women and children. The most famous of these hippopotamus goddesses is Taweret, a very common household deity among the common people of Egypt, and many amulets were made in her form. Others included Opet or Ipet, who was similar to Taweret but a little more stately, as well as Reret, who personified the constellation of Draco. On the other hand, the destructive capabilities of the hippopotamus towards useful boats led to it also being seen as a force of chaos, and so it also became associated with the god of disorder, Set. Though normally depicted as a man with the head of the mysterious "sha" animal, in scenes of the battles between Seth and Horus, Seth can sometimes be shown in hippopotamus form,