Written in Ink: Haida One

Piece: A two-headed Haida Raven crest

Location:Left Shoulder

Another tattoo of which I am especially proud is one of two pieces I have that is representative of the Haida tradition of artwork.

The Haida are a Native American people inhabiting the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia, Canada, and Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. Most Haida objects are decorated with crests--figures of animals, birds, sea creatures and mythic beings -- that immediately identify the moiety (Raven or Eagle) and often the lineage of the owner (Info from Civilization.ca.

So why did I choose this crest? In some ways it goes with the Asian symbol centered just below the piece, which actually predates the Haida one. The symbol is for the letter "S," the last name of my adoptive father. The crest is a two-headed Raven, similar to the image to the left, but abbreviated to compliment the curve of my shoulder. In Haida culture, the Raven is (again, from Civilization.ca):

truly a trickster who liberates humankind from a clamshell, then in one story sets the universe in order, only to threaten it with chaos in the next. The Raven is the most greedy, mischievous and lecherous creature imaginable, but almost without meaning to, teaches humans the arts of living a good life.

When I went to the tattoo studio to get some more ink, I was not really sure what I wanted, but I did have a sense that I wanted to somehting for my left shoulder. Thumbing through the native patterns, I happened upon the Haida pieces. I have a fraternal twin brother, so I thougth it might be interesting to have a crest that gets at the duality of having a twin. Additionally, it was a way (I reckon) to acknowledge that it is through the mistakes and chaos one finds him/herself (occassionally) getting caught up in, that you learn, and, in truth, fully live.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!