Beautiful Hummingbird Tattoos

Everyone likes hummingbirds, how could you not? They are small, delicate, and a unique flight that has fascinated ornithologists for decades

Mar 02, 2016

Hummingbird tattoos come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and preferences. And they also come with cultural significance. Hummingbird history is confined to the Americas where the species makes it home, and it shows up frequently in Native American myths and legends. It even shows up in NASA satellite images. The Hummingbird is a popular figure in the Nazca Desert, one of the geoglyphs that make up the Nazca Lines. They are basically huge tattoos carved into the earth.

These geoglyphs are clues to really powerful beliefs. The Nazca culture was contemporary with the Moche, similarly known for their iconographic images depicting the natural world. They are animalistic images, and different species of hummingbirds have been portrayed. They did not worship any single god, but numerous spirits that made up the air, earth, and water. That is not to say that hummingbirds were spiritual beings, but they most certainly had some sort of religious significance. If you go to the trouble of creating massive earthworks, there is more than just “art” happening.

The history of tattoos is also represented here. Mummies have been found with all sorts of mythical creatures tattooed on them in this region during this time period. They are not the oldest tattooed mummies (that would be Otzi), but archaeologists believe that these people tattooed themselves for similar reasons, both sacred and possibly therapeutic.

In other Native American lore, hummingbirds represent swiftness, prowess, healing, and fire-bringer. It was thought to bring good luck. It was also considered a love charm, to the point that people would wear dead hummingbirds around their neck in order to entice a lover.

Let me just say, you don’t need love that badly. Just get a tattoo.