Asking the Spirit of Love, Chuparrosa

In Spanish, chuparrosa translates as "hummingbird." Chuparrosa is also the name for the divine hummingbird spirit who has wandered into USA hoodoo practice from Curanderismo (Mexican folk magic).

On a Friday evening, someone who wants the help of Chuparrosa in love will light a pink or red devotional candle which has an image of a hummingbird at a blossom reading the contemporary folk prayer on the back.

Below is a English translation of one such contemporary prayer asking for help from this divine spirit bird.

Oh Divine Chuparrosa! You take and give the sweetness of the flowers. You give life and reveal love to women. I embrace you and your potent nectar so that you protect me.

I ask you with nine days of prayer that you will not forget me. Grant me the ability to enjoy you and to serve you in your shrine so that you, my Chuparrosa, may concede my humble wish.

As the contemporary prayer mentioned a shrine, I assume that means the candle ought to be left set out in a place of honor even when it is not lit. A person might want to get a small Chuparrosa representation (drawing, photo, statue, talisman of a hummingbird) to set next to the candle. [Of course, another idea might be to set up a hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water as a shrine, or offering, to the incarnations of these little birds. Likewise planting the red "coral honeysuckle" also known as "trumpet honeysuckle" (Lonicera sempervirens) as los chuparrosas love this flower. See Hummingbird Feeder below. However, I have never read of anyone doing that in connection with the Chuparrosa spirit.]

Something about Real Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are indigenous to the Americas. There are many different species spanning a large geographic area. Acoording to Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, DC, "Hummingbirds are found only in the Western Hemisphere, from southeastern Alaska to southern Chile, although most live in the tropics. There are 320 species of hummingbirds, 12 of which summer in North America and winter in tropical areas." Eleven different species can be found in Florida. The majority of species occur in tropical and subtropical areas, including South America, Central America, Mexico, Southern USA, Caribbean islands, etc.

Hummingbirds are specialized nectarivores. They consume more than their own weight in nectar each day, extracting it with their tongues. They visit hundreds of flowers daily for this purpose. The Spanish name, chuparrosa, literally means "rose sucker," or "one who sucks the nectar of the rose."

Mexican Legends

There are several legends about these tiny birds, in both Aztec and Mayan culture. Two legends may specifically reflect on the Chuparrosa spirit bird in Curanderismo and in hoodoo.

I have heard folks link the veneration of the "Divine Chuparrosa" with the Aztec Huitzilopochtli. The Nahuatl word huitzil means "hummingbird." Huitzil was an onomatopoeic word relating to the sound of the little bird's wings. The Aztec deity, Huitzilopochtli ("the humming bird from the left") was often depicted as a hummingbird. Huitzilopochtli was the Supreme God of the city of Tenochtitlan, and a God of the sun and war.

Huitzilopochtli's name indicated he came from the "left" of the direction of the rising sun (the south), which was the direction of the spirit world. An Aztec legend recounted that Huitzilopochtli transformed into a glittering emerald-colored hummingbird upon his death, as did the Aztec warriors who died in battle.

Indeed, Aztecs viewed the hummingbird as a powerful symbol and wore hummingbird representations and feathers as talismans. The hummingbirds were emblems of vigor, energy, and skill with certain weapons. Their long beaks also represented sexual potency. The Aztecs wore these talismans to symbolize energy, vigor, hardworking speed and skill, and sexual prowess.

Yet Mayan lore, rather than Aztec, may be more closely linked to contemporary veneration of the "Divine Chuparrosa." According to Mayan legend, the Sun will disguise himself as the hummingbird, Tzunu'un, in order to court the Moon, who disguised herself as a beautiful woman. Not surprisingly, in Mayan folk magic, the little hummingbird was the symbol of romance, sex, and marriage. Tzunu'un was also the protector of gardens and flowers.

Additional Speculations about Mayan Mythology

I googled around attempting to cross reference this Mayan legend of the Sun and Moon with Mayan mythology. Mayan mythology is complex and has many varriations. Not surprising considering the time period Mayan culture covered and the geographic area of different city states it spanned.

What follows is pure speculation based only on a couple of hours of websearch. My guess is the Mayan legend is related to myths about Itzamna and Ixchel.

The benificent Mayan God, Itzamna, was associated with the sun as he sometimes was linked or thought to be an aspect of Kinich Ahau, the sun God. Itzamna was credited with providing writing, culture, knowledge, and medicine. The animal he was most commonly associated with was the green scaled iguana. He is usually depicted as a toothless elderly man. (I didn't find any mythological source that connected Itzamna to hummingbirds; of course, iguanas are green and so are some hummingbirds.)

Ixchel, "Lady Rainbow," was the Goddess of pregnancy, childbirth, rains, fertility, and the moon. She is credited with creating weaving. Ixchel was the consort of Itzamna and they had several sons.

However, one of Ixchel's titles was "Grandmother," and she was portrayed as an elderly woman. Thus, some mythologists connect her only with the phase of the waning moon. Other scholars of Mayan mythology point out the classic Mayan moon spirit was instead portrayed as a young, beautiful woman iconographically identified with a cresent. As Dr. Mary E. Gutierrez, PhD, wrote "One of the most famous depictions of the Mayan Moon Goddess has her sitting within a crescent moon with a foot dangling over the edge." Little is known about her.

I speculate that this Mayan moon spirit could have been a younger version or manifestation of Grandmother Ixchel. Perhaps a disguise of Ixchel? Perhaps, also, the toothless bulbous nosed, wrinkled necked Itzamna disguised or transformed himself as a brilliant green hummingbird?

If so, Itzamna and Ixchel could be the source of the Mayan legend of the Sun and Moon disguising themselves as a hummingbird and a beautiful woman. In which case, Itzamna, associated with the Sun and the toothless, wrinkled neck, vivid green iguanna, transformed himself into a dashing green hummingbird in order to court Ixchel the young Moon in her guise as a beautiful, young woman.

Hummingbird Feeder

Hummingbirds will either hover or perch to feed. If someone wants to set up a feeders for los chuparrosas, white granulated sugar is the best sweetener to use in hummingbird feeders. A ratio of 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water is a standard recipe. "Raw" or "natural sugars" contain iron, which can be lethal to hummingbirds if ingested over long periods. Bright red feeders are preferred. Artifically coloring the liquid with food coloring is not necessary to attract their attention and may have a negative impact healthwise on the birds in the long run.

Warning: bees, wasps, and ants will be attracted to the sugar water and may crawl into the feeder, where they may become trapped and drown. A hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water might attract other critters with a taste for sweets as well.

copyright 2011 Myth Woodling

Sources:

Anabel, Living History at El Pilar, El Pilar conserving the past for the future, Thursday, May 28, 2009, http://elpilarprograms.blogspot.com/2009/05/living-history-at-el-pilar.html, accessed 8/31/11.

Bad Ass Animals, HUMMINGBIRD, February 20, 2011, http://badassanimals.tumblr.com/post/3411919273/hummingbird-upon-first-seeing-this-post-some-of, accessed 8/31/11.

Defenders of Wildlife, Hummingbirds, 2011, http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/hummingbirds.php?lb_v=7, accssed 8/31/11.

Defenders of Wildlife, Adopt a Hummingbird, https://secure.defenders.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=wagc_hummingbird&s_src=3WEW1100FXXXX&s_subsrc=hummingbirdcopy&utm_medium=Body_Copy&utm_content=Hummingbird&utm_campaign=Fact_Sheet&utm_source=Defenders&JServSessionIdr004=7lke2ah261.app226a, accessed 8/31/11.

Larry Gates, Native American Mythology, 1998, http://www.hummingbirdworld.com/h/native_american.htm, accessed 8/31/11 .

Dr. Mary E. Gutierrez, PhD, The Mayan Moon Goddess, Ian's Lunar Pages, [Ian Sanders] 1996-2005, http://www.ianslunarpages.org/moonmyth2.html, accessed 9/1/11.

Myths Encyclopedia, Itzamna, Advameg, Inc. 2011, http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ho-Iv/Itzamn.html#ixzz1WiWE5MQB, accessed 9/1/11.

Myths Encyclopedia, Mayan Mythology, Advameg, Inc. 2011, http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Le-Me/Mayan-Mythology.html#ixzz1Wj6JcZDM, accessed 9/1/11.

Kayla Webley, Huitzilopochtli, Aztec God of Sun and War, TIME, Monday, Feb. 07, 2011, http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2046823_2046865_2046845,00.html, accessed 8/31/11.

Yucatan Adventure Eco-Travel Guide, Mayan Gods & The Universe, September 2008, updated April 2009,October 2009, February 2010, January 2011, http://www.yucatanadventure.com.mx/maya-gods.htm, accessed 9/1/11.

Catherine Yronwode, CHUPARROSA MAGIC SPELLS AND SPIRITUAL SUPPLIES,1995-2010, accessed 8/31/11.

Roots and Stuff: honeysuckle/trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Roots and Stuff: honeysuckle essential oil
Roots and Stuff: honeysuckle oil
Hummingbird Cake
Working the Spell
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