Hummingbirds are beautiful, tiny birds that have captivated humans for millennia with their energetic flight and iridescent plumage. These tiny birds have been featured prominently in myths, legends, and religious beliefs throughout the Americas. Many gods and goddesses of indigenous cultures in North, Central and South America have been associated with hummingbirds due to their magical properties. In this article, we will explore the gods and goddesses of ancient cultures across the Americas that are linked to these mystical birds.
The Aztec God Huitzilopochtli
One major Aztec god closely associated with the hummingbird is Huitzilopochtli, the deity of war, sun, human sacrifice and the patron of the Mexica tribe. Huitzilopochtli was one of the most important Aztec gods and the Mexica believed he directed them to establish their kingdom at what is now Mexico City. The legend goes that Huitzilopochtli directed the Mexica to found their new capital city where an eagle was devouring a snake atop a cactus. This legendary founding of Tenochtitlan is depicted on the Mexican flag today.
Huitzilopochtli’s name means “blue hummingbird on the left” or “blue hummingbird on the south.” This is because the Aztecs believed he was born on Coatepec Mountain in the south and was represented by the hummingbird. According to myth, Huitzilopochtli was born out of his mother Coatlicue fully grown and armed for battle. He rose from her womb in full battle gear to defend his mother from his siblings the moon and stars who sought to destroy her. Huitzilopochtli slayed his sister Coyolxauhqui and banished his brothers. As a bright blue hummingbird and a warrior, Huitzilopochtli represented both the burning fury of the sun and the good of war. He was said to need the nourishment of sacrificed human hearts and blood to defeat darkness and battle his siblings every day. The Aztec people made many human sacrifices to Huitzilopochtli so he could win this daily cosmic battle and bring the sun from the underworld each day. His temples were built at the top of tall pyramids to be closer to the sun.
Hummingbird Symbolism of Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli is closely associated with the hummingbird for several important reasons:
- The legend of his birth and subsequent victory in battle emphasize his vigor, energy and speed like the darting motions of a hummingbird.
- His blue and turquoise colored feathers are reminiscent of the iridescent blues and greens of hummingbirds.
- Hummingbirds drink nectar, and the Aztecs believed Huitzilopochtli also needed to drink mystical nectar or human blood to have the strength and energy for battle.
- Hummingbirds can fly forwards, backwards and upside down, representing the complex symbolic meaning of Huitzilopochtli.
- The hummingbird’s association with fire and the sun in Aztec culture paralleled Huitzilopochtli’s role as the solar deity.
Overall, Huitzilopochtli perfectly embodied the Aztec conception of the spiritual power of the ferocious hummingbird, and came to represent the sun, war and sacrifice.
The Mayan God Ah Kin
The ancient Maya also strongly associated the hummingbird with one of their most important gods known as Ah Kin. Often represented as a hummingbird perched atop a flower, Ah Kin was the Mayan god of the sun, healing and music. As a sun god, Ah Kin brought the light and heat that nourished the crops and plants crucial for sustaining Maya civilization. As a deity of music and the arts, Ah Kin inspired beautiful songs, poetry and crafts. In the medical field, Ah Kin’s healing powers were invoked through rituals to cure illnesses and heal wounds.
Meanings Behind Ah Kin as a Hummingbird
The Maya revered the hummingbird and viewed it as holding numerous symbolic meanings:
- Agility – Hummingbirds can instantly change directions and speeds, representing Ah Kin’s agile mobility across the sky.
- Vibrancy – The beautiful, shimmering colors of hummingbird feathers embodied the radiance of Ah Kin as the sun itself.
- Resurrection – Hummingbirds emerge each year in Maya lands when the dry season ends, and so represent Ah Kin bringing back the sun from the underworld.
- Nourishment – Like Ah Kin nourishes the world with light and heat, hummingbirds drink sustaining nectar from flowers.
- Messenger – Hummingbirds served as spiritual envoys that connected humans to Ah Kin’s healing powers.
These symbolic meanings help explain why Ah Kin was commonly depicted as a god with hummingbird features who brought vitality, renewal and creative arts to the Maya world.
The Incan God Inti
In the Inca civilization in South America, the sun god Inti was also closely tied to hummingbirds. As the patron deity of the Inca capital, Inti was one of the most venerated gods, and considered the divine ancestor of the ruling Inca kings. The major temple dedicated to the sun god, aptly called the Coricancha or “Golden Enclosure”, contained a large statue of Inti represented by sacred gold discs symbolizing the sun.
Inti was especially important in the Incan creation myth, where he and his sister/wife Mama Killa, the moon goddess, gave birth to the first Inca ruler Manqu Qhapaq. As a descendant of the sun, the Inca king carried the authority and radiance of Inti himself. During the festival of Inti Raymi held on the winter solstice, the Inca king would channel Inti and perform rituals to ensure the god’s blessing upon the harvests.
Hummingbird Association with Inti
Several key factors connect the Incan sun god Inti to hummingbirds:
- Bringer of Life – Hummingbirds pollinated the plants of the Inca empire, just as Inti brought life through rays of sunlight.
- Nobility – Hummingbirds were considered royal birds, paralleling divine kings’ descent from Inti.
- Energy – Zooming hummingbirds embodied the fervent motion of Inti crossing the sky each day.
- Brilliance – Glittering hummingbird feathers perfectly reflected Inti’s radiance.
This high regard for hummingbirds helps explain why representations of Inti frequently incorporated hummingbird motifs and why live hummingbirds were kept in Inti’s golden temple enclosures.
The Goddess Xochiquetzal of Mesoamerica
An important goddess associated with hummingbirds was Xochiquetzal, a major female Aztec deity. Also known as Ichpōchtli, meaning “maiden”, Xochiquetzal was the goddess of beauty, sexual love, fertility, flowers, artisans and more. She was viewed as the protector of young mothers and a model for feminine grace and creativity. Artistic renditions often depict Xochiquetzal surrounded by flowers or wearing a headdress of blossoms.
Xochiquetzal’s strong ties to hummingbirds stem from her domain over flowers and plants. As hummingbirds fluttered from flower to flower drinking nectar, they were constant companions to Xochiquetzal and came to symbolize her as well. Beyond Aztec civilization, Xochiquetzal was important for earlier Mesoamerican cultures including the Olmec, Mayan and Toltec where she was also linked to hummingbirds.
Symbolic Connections Between Xochiquetzal and Hummingbirds
Several symbolic associations explain the affinity between the goddess Xochiquetzal and hummingbirds:
- Fertility – Hummingbirds pollinate plants, which in turn produce the flowers and plants under Xochiquetzal’s blessing.
- Renewal – The return of hummingbirds each spring renewed Xochiquetzal’s flower-filled fields.
- Beauty – The shimmering, elegant plumage of hummingbirds mirrors Xochiquetzal’s grace.
- Love – Hummingbirds have long signified love; Xochiquetzal specifically rules over eroticism.
- Femininity – Delicate hummingbirds reflect ideals of Maya femininity embodied in the goddess.
Given thesesymbolic connections, it’s understandable that artistic images of Xochiquetzal frequently incorporated hummingbirds and their flowers.
The Zapotec God Pitao Cozobi
A hummingbird deity exists in the religion of the Zapotec civilization of Oaxaca, Mexico named Pitao Cozobi or “Hummingbird Wizard.” Details on Pitao Cozobi’s mythology are limited, but he seems to have presided over song, dance and flowers. As a patron of dance, he represented the vigor and movement of hummingbirds mid-flight. As an embodiment of flowers, he reflected the close ecological relationship between hummingbirds and the blossoms they pollinate. And as a god of songs, he likely inspired melodic Zapotec music reminiscent of hummingbird’s rapid wing beats and squeaking vocalizations. Songs invoking Pitao Cozobi’s power may have been used in Zapotec rituals to bring about love, beauty, and intimacy – all concepts associated with hummingbirds.
The Yanomami Spirit Kuemo
The Yanomami culture of the Amazon rainforest also links hummingbirds to the spiritual world. In their belief system, every animal and plant has a corresponding spirit known as a hekura that protects that species. The hummingbird hekura is called Kuemo, depicted as a small man with a long, green nose and striped face that allowed him to fit inside flowers. As the guardian of all hummingbirds, Kuemo was an important spirit who enabled the proliferation of plant life by pollinating seeds and maintaining nectar-bearing flowers. The Yanomami likely performchants invoking Kuemo for maintaining the jungle’s biodiversity and mastering the botanical knowledge vital to their hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the Amazon.
Conclusions on Gods Associated with Hummingbirds
The Americas are filled with legends and folklore linking gods to hummingbirds. These mystical birds captivated the imaginations of ancient cultures across North, Central and South America due to their energetic flying, spectacular colors, rapport with flowers, migration patterns and more.
Gods such as Huitzilopochtli, Ah Kin, Inti and Xochiquetzal drew associations to hummingbirds related to their domain over subjects like the sun, warfare, flowers and love. Hummingbirds’ properties similarly influenced their incorporation in myths regarding more obscure deities like Pitao Cozobi and Kuemo. This divine reverence for hummingbirds across indigenous American religions reflects the deep cultural appreciation for these tiny, dazzling creatures.
So next time you see a hummingbird buzz by, recall the Native American gods who were represented by these magical birds. The hummingbird remains a cultural symbol reminding us of ancestral outlooks on nature, beauty and spirituality in the Americas.
