Culture of Third Earth
The Monkeys
*The Monkeys (or Monkians) and their Ape cousins do not have their own territories. They are attached to the Bird Nation's territory as serfs to work their agriculture for them.
*Technically, they are not slaves per se, but many see their servitude to the Birds as slavery.
*Monkeys' masters are usually wealthy aristocrats (or other high ranking Birdfolk in the Bird Nation), and the Monkians and Apes live in shabby conditions on their lords' or ladies' properties. Each Monkey and Ape is treated with courtesy by the Birds, but the avians still see themselves as being above the Monkeys in almost every way, especially culture and refinement.
*Monkeys dress in rough, homespun clothes which are usually dark in color, though some Apes are skilled enough (and have the right kind of masters) to make slightly better looking clothes with more color.
*These creatures are strong and willful, and have enough brains to be very clever and cunning, but they lack the genius and subtlety of their Bird neighbors. They can even make their own tools and "tech" with the scraps of Bird machines and from nature through imaginative improvisation.
*The Monkian-kind's relationship with the Birds of the Bird Nation is similar to the Lizards' relations with the Cats. They consider the "bird brains" to be their worst enemy, always making them do what they wanted, taking and not giving back, and exploiting them and their families in embarrassing ways.
*Unfortunately, the Monkeys are ignorant of the existence of the Birds of Avista, who are equally arrogant but don't believe in slavery or exploitation, thus being slightly more virtuous than the Birds of the Bird Nation.
*Monkeys are generally hostile Animals, because their experiences with the Birds have led them not to trust anybody other than their own kind. However, if a stranger saves the life of a Monkey/Ape, or otherwise does the Monkian a big practical favor, he/she will pledge their life to serving their savior with a life debt.
*Some Monkians have severed their ties with the Birds (both literally and figuratively), and hide out in another part of the jungle as an activist group which stages guerilla protests (pun intended) on Bird businesses and homes to protest their shabby treatment and encourage civil freedoms for their kind.
*A Monkey's mother and father work together to raise their babies, and will fiercely protect them from any creature, including their Bird masters, who seeks to harm or exploit them before they hit their coming-of-age.
*Apes are a different race from the Monkeys, although they're very closely related, and take great offense if someone fails to tell them apart. They can be told apart by Monkeys having a tail, while Apes don't.
*Monkians come in numerous types, like chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons, capuchins, spiders, howlers, baboons, colobus, macaques, and many more.
*Monkeys and Apes usually eat fruits, nuts, and vegetation, but some, like chimps and baboons, are also hunters and like eating meat, too. The Birds let them go search for their own food at meal times, but keep surveillance over the jungle to make sure as few as possible escape captivity.
*Monkeys and Apes can read books, and find many subjects fascinating, though technology isn't one of them. The Birds usually pick out the books for them, much to their chagrin, but the Monkeys are usually satisfied.
*Monkeys and Apes are also excellent singers, who sing sad songs at their plight with the Birds in front of them, though the Birds usually ignore them. The guerilla protest groups usually sing songs of their own to bolster their morale, such as "We Shall Overrun" and "Monkian Power."
*Apes and Monkeys who don't have to work constantly, as well as their children, enjoy their own games, like "Name That Picture," "Dunk the Ball," "Skip Up the Ladder," and "Monkeys vs. Birdies," a favorite among adults, which involves using a chess-like board and pieces to outsmart, outwit, and outlast the enemy. Most Monkeys prefer playing the Monkians, but many are willing to play the Birds sometimes for the sake of exercising the Monkeys and Apes' minds.
*Monkeys are so fit for physical labor, they exercise regularly to stay in shape, unless they're among some of the more peaceful, or lazier, gorillas and orangutans. Nonetheless, even the "lazy" ones are strong enough to easily snap a Bird's neck. That's why the Bird Nation's Birds usually carry a weapon on them for self-defense, and keep their Chicks a safe distance from the Simians.
*A criminal Monkey/Ape named Addicus once served the guerilla protest groups after escaping captivity, but his ways of protesting became too barbaric, even for the roughest and toughest of the other Monkeys, and they told him to go away and fight his battles on his own. They were especially perturbed one time when he bit off a young Monkian's shoulder and ate it, commenting that he never knew sapient flesh tasted so good. Later, after committing some crimes against the Bird Nation and almost being executed for it, Addicus served Mumm-Ra as a general for his Lizard army.
*While not exactly warlike, the Monkeys are predisposed toward violence after their long exploitation and persecution, and Mumm-Ra thinks this will make them perfect soldiers to supplement the Lizards in their fight against the ThunderCats.