SARIMIN, go to the market, take a basket, don't drop it!" The sound of a plain drum accompanied the yells of Ma'i, 40, the traveling monkey show's director, in the Bintaro Jaya housing complex last week. Sarimin—the common name used for the actor of such a show (for reasons unknown)—also took an umbrella and handbag before swaying its hips like a girl going shopping.

The sarimin is not a rare animal. They have been watched at per