The majority of people know precisely what they want to have inked on their bodies while only a small percentage simply wants a cool-looking tattoo. Deep, meaningful tattoos are often personal, and spirituality is a popular theme for many.
Tribal tattoos are and were hip for decades, and they’re some of the finest representations of how Mayan motifs combine tribal and spiritual elements with body art, so, without any further ado, let’s dive straight in.
Mayan Sun
Although animism was the most dominant Mayan religion, they essentially also worshiped astral bodies, more specifically, the sun and moon. The vast majority of ancient civilizations believed that the sun was the god’s ‘eye’, and that it cast hope and miracles in the form of light.
The Mayan Sun tattoo symbolizes a variety of things; from productivity and fertility, over enlightenment and truth-seeking ventures, to divinity and worship.
Ajaw/Ahau and Nobility
Mayan nobles were not just political figures; they were also spiritual leaders, and usually expert warriors. The Ajaw symbol represented the ruling class of Mayan nobles, which typically involved both kings and priests.
While kings, queens, and leaders of countries and states were represented with Ajaw symbols, the ‘divine lord’, or the ‘king of kings’ would be recognized as K’Uhul Ajaw. The logogram of Ajaw features an intimidating face within a square with rounded edges, presumably depicting a tribal helmet.
Another element of the Ajaw tattoo is the link of three circles below the ‘head’. Earlier depictions featured plain circles while later iterations would feature symbols of three moons (two crescents, and one full).
Mayan Calendar
Most people of today associate the Mayan Calendar with the prophecy regarding the ‘end of the world’ in 2012. Fortunately, the prophecy never came to pass, but the attention that the Mayan Calendar garnered that way led many to research its actual meaning.
The calendar is remarkably complex in terms of both concept and aesthetics. Essentially, the calendar features multiple cycles of varying lengths, called Tzolk’in and Haab’. The Tzolk’in refers to the 260-day calendar comprising 20 sequences, many of which are still being researched today.
The Haab’ refers to a calendar featuring 18 months, although each month only lasts 20 days, plus five extra ‘nameless days’ called Wayeb’. The Mayan Calendar’s round is essentially a date that equates Tzolk’in and the Haab’. this date would occur once every 52 years at different dates.
The ‘Long-Count’ calendar was invented in response to the short span of the ‘Calendar Round’, which was essentially a slightly improved mode of dating.
What makes the Mayan Calendar tattoo special is the fact that each day (in both Tzolk’in and Haab’) featured different glyphs for each day. A single ‘month’ would essentially be depicted by 39 different glyphs, without the additional props. Mayans strongly believed in the idea that each person has its own spiritual leader in a form of an animal, or as they called it – nahauls, or spiritual animals, which these glyphs mostly represented. The date of birth actually defines your spirit companion as well as your character traits. This is why people usually choose among thousands of variations of tribal Mayan Tattoo calendars, most of which are largely inaccurate due to the sheer intricacy of the design itself.
Mayan Zotz
Zotz, the guardian of hell and underworld, or simply ‘the bat’, used to be one of the most respected Mayan tribal tattoos. The ancient Mayans worshiped Zotz for various reasons and attributed numerous qualities to this winged mammal.
Some of the most profound interpretations of Zotz tattoos revolved around the intuition of the bat. Mayans were aware of the bat’s blindness, although they didn’t know these animals use echoes to navigate through the world, so they assumed the creature’s intuition was on a godlike level.
Younger Mayan civilizations attributed the symbols of illusion, power, and even rebirth to Zotz. The duality of perception, and the lack of differentiation between the forces of light and darkness are the main reasons why Mayan Zotz is remarkably popular nowadays.
Kukulcan, the fabled Feathered Serpent
While ancient Mexicans referred to this god as Quetzalcoatl, ancient Mayans called it Kukulcan. The fabled Feathered Serpent is a god of earth and was very tightly associated with Tlaloc, the god of rain.
Somewhere around the 12th century, the cult of Kukulcan appropriated different attributes. Warmongering tribes came from northern areas, introducing ancient Mayans to human sacrifices. Some believe that Kukulcan, the star of mornings and evenings, was to Mayans what the Devil was to Christians.
The cult of Kukulcan morphed once again between the 14th and 16th century, when the deity became the patron of all priests, the guardian of craftsmen, and the divine inventor of books. Kukulcan is easily one of the most spiritual tribal Mayan tattoos, as its main symbolic attributes are resurrection, life, and death.
Ah Puch, the banished Death God
While Mayans never made a clear distinction between what’s good and what’s evil, they seemed to have made an exception with Ah Puch, which is considered irrefutably evil. This significance of Ah Puch tattoo lies in its remarkably gory appearance, as well as in the fact that he presides over the lowest, most horrific pit of hell where the gravest of sinners and celestial trespassers die in perpetuity.
While most death gods would seek out battle, Ah Puch would roam around the ill and the crippled, finishing off the weaker enemies and claiming their souls.
Hunab Ku
Hunab Ku represented peace, balance, and unity among ancient Mayans. It somewhat resembles the traditional Chinese Yin and Yang in that it features elements of duality and symmetry painted in black and white.
The main elements of the Hunab Ku symbol include the four corners of the earth, the perpetuating spiral in the center, and four pyramid-like pedestals on each side.
Ancient Mayans were master architects and mathematicians, which can be seen in this intricate symbol, although not nearly as much when compared to their Calendar or Sun tattoos.
Ouroboros
The snake eating its tail is an ancient symbol of rebirth and regeneration, as well as infinity and perpetuity. Modern interpretations of the Ouroboros snake revolve around self-empowerment, the ability to adapt to changed environments, and hope.
What makes Mayan Ouroboros different from versions present in the history of other civilizations (most notably Greek), is that the snake actually looks more like a dragon and sports more geometrical features.
We hope that this guide was useful to you and that you have learned something new today on how Mayan tattoos combine tribal spirituality with body art. Make sure you are staying safe in these times we are all going through and have a good one, readers!
