"Hummingbird feathers are magical "… at least that's what they claimed the Mayans, a Mesoamerican civilization that lived between centuries III and XV in Guatemala, Mexico and other places in Central America.
The Mayans saw hummingbirds as sacred creatures that possessed healing powers through the joy and love they transmitted to people who were watching them. This is somewhat true, even today, every time we see a hummingbird it fills us with very pleasant emotions.
The worldview of the Mayan civilization has a legend for everything (especially animals) and has created an incredible story about this vibrant creature. Continue reading this article on our site where you will learn the curious legend of the Mayan hummingbird
The Mayans and their gods
The Mayans had a mystical culture and, as we mentioned before, they have a legend for everything. According to the wise elders of this civilization, the gods created everything on the planet, forming animals from mud and corn, endowing them with exceptional physical and spiritual abilities and particular missions; many of them even being the personification of the gods themselves. The creatures of the animal world are sacred to civilizations like the Maya because they trusted that these were direct messengers of their beloved deities.
The Precious Hummingbird
The legend of the Mayan hummingbird tells us that the gods created all the animals and gave each one a specific task to perform in the earth. When they finished the distribution, they realized that they had not commissioned a very important task for them: they need a messenger to transport their thoughts and desires from one place to another. However, what happened was that, in addition, since they did not have this, they fell short with the materials for the creation of this new carrier, they no longer had any more clay or corn.
As they were Gods, creators of the possible and the impossible, they decided to do something more special. They took a Jade stone (a precious mineral) and carved an arrow symbolizing the journey. After a few days, when it was ready, they blew so hard on it that the arrow flew through the skies, turning into a beautiful multicolored hummingbird.
They created the hummingbird, fragile and light so that it could fly around nature and man almost without realizing it, take their thoughts and desires and transport them.
According to legend hummingbirds became so popular and important that man began to feel the need to catch them for his personal purposes. The Gods, angry with this disrespectful reality condemned to death every man who dared to cage one of these precious creatures and, in addition, they endowed the bird with an impressive speed. This is one of the mystical explanations given to the fact that it is practically impossible to catch a hummingbird… The Gods protect them.
The commissions of the gods
These birds are thought to bring messages from the afterlife and may be manifestations of the spirit of a deceased person. The hummingbird is also considered a mythological healing animal that helps people in need by changing their luck.
Finally, the legend is summed up in that this precious, tiny and ste althy bird has the important job of carrying people's thoughts and intentions from there to here. So if you happen to see a hummingbird approaching your head, don't touch it and allow it to take your wishes and carry them away straight to their destination.
