THE MYTH OF EL DORADO – The Hummingbird

THE MYTH OF EL DORADO
THE HUMMINGBIRD (COLIBRI) AS MYTHICAL CREATURE

Before you read this blog, be welcome to read the following blogs first:
* The Myth of El Dorado – Introduction
* The Myth of El Dorado – In search of another gold

The hummingbird

Google the word ‘hummingbird’ and, within less than a second, you already have more than 10,000,000 results. There are quite some myths and legends about the hummingbird in various indigenous cultures in the Americas. This is evidence of their admiration for this little bird. There are several reasons why this tiny bird fascinates the indigenous people so. In this blog, I first write briefly about some characteristics I came across in my research about the hummingbird as a mythical creature. Secondly, of all the different mythical stories, I put only two, or actually three, in the spotlight that are interesting, in my opinion. 

In general, the hummingbird is associated with joy, love, good luck, beauty, playfulness, resilience, devotion, persistence, happiness, intelligence, and wisdom. Sometimes, the hummingbird also stands for infinity, continuity, eternity, faith, and hope. The hummingbird reminds us to live in the present, to stop dwelling on the past, and not to dream needlessly about the future. It makes you think of death not as the end but as the beginning of eternity instead.

If the hummingbird is your spirit animal, then you enjoy the simple pleasures of life, and joy is just around the corner. You know how to express love fully. You think fast and you are quick in making decisions but you analyze in detail before taking action. Your adaptability is great, and you accept the reality of change with a happy heart. Due to your extensive adaptability and wisdom, you can easily tackle immense problems.
Seeing a hummingbird just before an important event is a good sign.

In the Maya legend, the hummingbird is a messenger from the gods to the people. The ancient Mayans believed that the hummingbird was the ‘sun in disguise.’ The sun appeared in the form of a hummingbird to court the moon.

The most powerful god of the Aztecs is called Huitzilopochtli, which means Hummingbird of the South. He was, among others, the god of the Sun and the god of War. It is said that he was half human and half bird. The Aztecs believed that he was made from feathers of the hummingbird that fell from heaven. They also believed that warriors would transform into hummingbirds when they died so that they could fly and join Huitzilopochtli. For this reason, the Aztecs also considered the hummingbirds messengers between them and their ancestors.

There are legends in which the hummingbirds were able to convince the gods to bring water to the earth on behalf of the human beings.

Contemporary scientists discovered that hummingbirds are the key pollinators for 60% of the tropical plants on the continents of the Americas and the Caribbean. It is worth mentioning that the smallest species is the Bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae). It measures only a mere 5-6 cm and weighs about 1.8 grams, while the largest member of the hummingbird family is the giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas). It is about 20- 22 cm long with a body weight of 20-23 grams.

Unfortunately, hummingbirds became too popular, and they were used for improper purposes. Thousands of them were killed. Europeans were using their skins, feathers, and even their bodies in women’s fashion. In Central and South America, the tiny creatures were dried and ground into magical powders. The powders were then used to attract money, power, or romance. (These powders are still made, according to some sources.)

Fortunately, there exists the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918! The treaty prohibited trade in any migratory bird species and their feathers. The treaty also helped to protect bird habitats.

The legend about the hummingbird and the huge forest fire

Different readings exist about this well-known legend. I was most enchanted by the two following versions. As a storyteller, I narrate the stories in my own way.

Reading one
In a big forest, a huge fire broke out. The flames were spreading rapidly. All animals fled from this enormous blaze of fire. All of them, from large to small. The jaguar, the tapir, the deer, the mirafroiti (anteater), the pingo and the pakira (bushpig), the kapasi (armadillo), the agoti (bush hare), the krabdagu (raccoon) and many more other animals. The tamanwa (anteater) was so nice to carry the loiri (sloth) on his back. All the animals ran as fast as they could to the edge of the forest, where there was a big lake. Above the fleeing animals, the birds also flew to the lake. There they stood all together, totally confused, gazing at the advancing fire. They really did not know what to do. No one did, except for the hummingbird. This little one flew to the lake and, with his little beak, he carried as much water as he could from the lake to the fire to drop a droplet into the engulfing flames. He did this off and on, repeatedly, drop by drop and with unyielding determination. The other animals were looking on with mixed feelings at the brave little bird. Some of them started to ridicule him. “Hi little bird, what are you aiming at with your little beak and little wings?”, the jaguar sarcastically said. “You can carry only one droplet at a time”, the toucan with his enormous beak yelled sneeringly. Despite all this, the hummingbird was focused on the massive task and peacefully replied: “I do the best I can.”

There are two versions regarding the ending of the story.

Ending one
The spirits of the forest were impressed by the efforts and devotion of the hummingbird to extinguish the fire. They asked the weather gods to let it rain in order for the rain to put out the fire. This request was granted.

Ending two
The other animals got inspired by the hummingbird and also started to think of all kinds of solutions to extinguish the fire. In the end, even the jaguar and the toucan were helping. Due to joint forces of all animals, they got the fire under control and, finally, after days the fire died out. (I myself love this ending very much.)

Reading two
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a monster who made a bet with the sun. He lost the bet and, out of happiness, the sun started to shine extremely bright. The monster did not want to give in to his loss and remained looking straight into the eyes of the sun. Because of this, he was blinded completely. Out of anger and frustration, the monster started to spit out hot lava into all the directions of the wind. This caused a huge fire on earth. First, all the beautiful flowers and edible crops above the earth burned down. Then a hummingbird saved the land of the humans and animals by gathering rain clouds from all four wind directions. By letting all these clouds rain, the fire was extinguished. In search of the rain clouds, the hummingbird flew through the rainbow. This is how the hummingbird got his beautiful bright colors around his throat.

An Indigenous story about Romeo and Juliet
Once upon a time, there was an exceptionally beautiful young woman. Actually, she was a princess because her father was the Chief of a very large indigenous tribe. The princess loved the animals of the tropical rainforest she was living in and the animals loved her, too. The small birds, the monkeys, and the small rodents, just like the agoti and hei, ate out of her hands. She loved the forest a lot, but her favorite place was the lake in which an enchanting waterfall culminated. She went there every day, where she paddled in the crystal-clear water and allowed herself to be dried by the sun, sitting on a flat rock at the edge of the lake. She enjoyed the luxuriant nature, became a bit lost in thought, sang a ditty, or was just humming a melody.

One day, a handsome young man discovered the lake and the waterfall. He was immediately captivated by this scenery with the young lady at the edge of the lake, who was singing while combing her hair. And, so, the princess met her Romeo. The two youngsters fell in love but immediately realized that their love was very problematic. The young man was not of the same tribe and their tribes were not on good terms with one another. Occasionally, there were even small wars between them. They decided to keep their relationship a secret. Every day, they met at the lake and, every day, their love grew more. Until one day, a suspicious tribe member followed the princess. The love affair was discovered and revealed to the father of the princess. The Chief was enraged and decided to immediately marry the princess off to a clansman. The princess did not want to marry the clansman and cried for hours and hours. The goddess of Flora took pity on her and proposed to change her into a red flower so she did not have to marry a man she did not love. The princess considered this the only solution at that time and changed into a beautiful red flower.

Two days in a row, from early morning till late night, the young man waited in vain by the lake for his beloved one. The god of Fauna felt sorry for him and told him that the goddess of Flora had changed the princess into a red flower so his beloved did not have to marry another man. The god of Fauna changed the young man into a hummingbird. The hummingbird immediately went in search of his beloved. With enormous persistence, he went looking for his beloved, flying from flower to flower. To this day, the two lovers still have not found each other.