Tribal Dragon Tattoos

It is hard to put a finger on the true meaning behind Tribal Dragon Tattoos, simply because are there have been so many different stories associated with them.  For example, everybody knows about how the dragon became a legendary foe in the European culture, as made famous by the epic tale Beowulf.  If we turn to the Middle East, the image of the dragon was based-off of actual lizards who could survive in the deserts rather than mythological or fabled creature concepts. But if we were to turn to Asian folklore, we would find a completely different dragon—not only in terms of aesthetics but in terms of symbolism as well.

In traditional Asian folklore, the dragon was a creature of wisdom and provided predictions were used to protect the townspeople.  Where they were a feared symbol of the West, the East honored the dragon as a god-like creature. In Japanese culture, the dragon is typically considered a symbol of physical strength and a warrior-like skill set as well as determination. In Chinese culture, the Koi dragon—specifically—is indicative of rebirth and spiritual strength where as its traditional dragon image is symbolic of good luck and is believed to be a promise of good fortune—especially when incorporated into Tribal Dragon Tattoos.

If you want to choose from the many Tribal Dragon Tattoos out there to emulate the wisdom of the Asian dragon, you can find dragon images that have inquisitive looking face or even dragons that have beards. In the traditional Chinese concept of Dragons, Dragons are often capable of flying. In traditional Japanese concepts of Dragons, Dragons are water dwelling creatures who resemble serpents or snakes more than they do a dragon in the contexts of other traditional cultures. Japanese Dragons are slender, lean, and slim—which creates some interesting designs options and conceptual characteristics for Tribal Dragon Tattoos which incorporate traditional images of the Japanese Dragon.

Various dragon tales have brought various images and concepts of the dragon to popularity in the tattoo world, but it was Celtic tribes that provided us with our current concept of Tribal Dragon Tattoos in today’s tattoo culture.  With a fiercer look than most dragons’, these tattoos feature more of a lizard-type creature for a dragon, using the swirls and swerving line patterns to delineate scales and body shape.   Several features that are common to the dragon in Tribal Dragon Tattoos are forked tongues, small and even wide-spreading wings, as well as the classic image of fire-breathing dragons.