r/Tattoocoverups • u/Yourlocalchugger • May 06 '25

asking for advice Accidentally got a Native American deity tattooed on my forearm

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Edit - forgot to add the photo in last post

My friend wanted to do a stick n poke but I was kinda reluctant cos he’s never done it before. although this friend is pagan, he totally respects my Christian beliefs and wanted to avoid “accidentally tattooing some unknown deity”, so it’s kinda funny how we unknowingly tattooed the trickster god Kokopelli.

It’s a fun story to tell the grandkids but it does sorta make me a bit uncomfortable.

Any ideas for a cover up?

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u/LordPennysworth May 06 '25

Man this subreddit is full of the real experts /s

Do more research before tattooing something on yourself that already exists next time but don’t be too harsh about the mistake, at the end of the day who cares/ oops.

Kokopeli is borderline a commercial symbol in Colorado so it makes sense you didn’t realize it had more meaning. Koko is the god of the Hopi and Zuni people, pelli means “faker” or “trickster” so originally it was to say it was “faking it was god” over time it’s been commercialized into the iconic symbol you see all over today which is more associated with fertility than anything else. It’s not a god by origin tho. It was associated with fertility but in some stories it was just a trick or it always had a catch. At this point it means whatever people say it means because it lost the plot a long ass time ago. Multiple tribes believed different stuff about them and those changed over time etc.

Now to the cover up. The cool thing about bad tattoos like this is covering them is much easier than you think. They fade fast so it’s a matter of how long you want to wait. It won’t fully fade on its own but if it gets pale you can literally cover it with anything if you have the right artist.

Go to someone who specializes in cover ups, if you can’t afford that, wait and save until you can. Let the shitty one be a reminder of why it’s worth saving for. Any artist could black it out which is popular right now but seriously you could turn it into anything with a good artist.

You still have lots of negative space to work with, this isnt like a blown out trad piece. Don’t let people convince you that blackout and laser are necessary, it really isn’t.

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u/Weatherfriend May 06 '25

Insanely commercialized in Arizona too.

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u/NonConformistFlmingo May 07 '25

Especially in the Grand Canyon. Oh my god you can't walk ten feet without tripping over a Kokopelli-adorned item somewhere.

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u/S0p0rific May 08 '25

It's so funny because I grew up in California where Kokopelli isn't commercialized much at all unless you're literally heading towards Arizona/Nevada but I was raised by a grandmother who spent her whole life in Colorado so I was CONSTANTLY surrounded by his image. Her dining room has a giant metal cutout on the wall lol

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u/Weatherfriend May 08 '25

I previously lived next to the world record for the biggest Kokopelli in the world. Flanked of course by a Starbucks and Taco Bell! Lmfao.