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One of the countries in the Americas with some of the richest traditional customs and beliefs is Mexico, a country that is recognized worldwide for their pre-Columbian civilizations producing all kinds of pottery, sculpture, monumental architecture and other forms of art that today is the inspiration for Mexican Tattoos.

There were many tribes living in ancient Mesoamerica, but particularly in Mexico. Olmecs, Zapotecs, Tarascans, Chichimeca, Huastecs, Mixtecs, Toltecs, Teotihuacans, Mayans, Tepanec and Aztecs were the most famous inhabitants from north to south and from coast to coast, each one with their own manifestation of art, inspiring modern Mexican Tattoos today.

Tattoos can have ornamental designs, mostly based on geometrical designs, but more often are representation of the ancient Gods and their representation in codices and carved on rock and other surviving vestiges. Mayan and Aztecs are the most popular of the pre-Colombian tribes, closely followed by Teotihuacans and Olmecs.

Quetzalcoatl, the “feathered snake”, is one of the most popular Mexican Tattoos today, whether it is represented in the Codex Borbonicus, or the popular head decorating the stairway in the Teotihuacán pyramid, that honors this God. Tlaloc, the God of Water, Rain and Thunder, is the actual guardian of the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and another popular tattoo motif.

There are many other ancient Mexican Gods recognizable around the world for their look more than their names, which are somewhat hard to pronounce, sometimes. Chalchihuitlicue, another water deity is another of those portrayed Gods and Goddesses, which name is hard to recall, but its image is easy to wear if you find the right artist, and some are specialized in Mexican Tattoos.

Although, the images can be rendered in rich color, you need to opt for monochrome tattoos or sepia, when it comes to relatively recent vestiges with no color reference in codices. Actual historians have colored many of those images but you can do the same adding to Mexican tattoos your own personal touch.

Coyolzauhqui is the Goddess of the Moon, daughter of Coatlicue and sister of Huitzilopochtli, a stone disc discovered in 1978 when the excavation to rescue the Great Temple of Tenochtitlán began. Depicted in some Mexican coins for awhile, there is no original colored reference of deity, leaving to your imagination the color pattern for your Mexican Tattoos.

Not only the Mesoamerican Pantheon offer you a large number of deities, such as Centeotll, Tezcatlipoca, Chacmol, Tonatiuh, or Xochipilli, but there are also many codices and murals (called “Frescos”) showing you the history of pre-Colombian civilizations and colorful motifs for your Mexican tattoos. A little research will also help to avoid future regret by choosing the wrong deity.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 25th, 2006 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Tattoo designs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.