Catfish is a freshwater fish that has a very characteristic appearance. Immediately identifiable by their whiskers, which are in fact feelers, catfish vary considerably in size and some of them can even grow quite large. They usually settle between calm and fast river current, and underneath stones or wood remains.
Animal tattoos exist for hundreds of years. People in the past painted animal tattoos on their bodies in order to attract the animal strength and abilities into their lives. Animals always played some kind of an important part in the lives of ancient cultures, and they saw them as protectors, as well as guardians of entire clans.
Before there was the religion of today, people believed in the power of nature and the beings that live inside of it. They carried special importance and significance in the lives of ancient cultures, and they were painted as a marking so that different clans can recognize the members of the different clans.
Throughout history, catfish, together with other fish sorts, were praised and considered to be holy animals. For example, in Japanese artwork, including tattoo, this fish is mythically linked with earthquakes.
Living in a part of the Pacific Rim which is subject to occasionally devastating earthquakes, the Japanese people attributed the movement of the earth to Namazu, which is a monstrous catfish that kept the land afloat. When it flipped, it would cause an earthquake. Some images of Namazu are not only illustrations of the legend, but they are also intended to cheer the survivors of past earthquakes.
The catfish appeared as a symbol long before the emergence of Christianity, and it is represented in a lot of ancient cultures and civilizations. The catfish symbol appears in the east and is mentioned in ancient books. The first Christians chose a fish symbol for the symbol of faith in the son of God. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the Savior is written in Greek, and the pronouns of the letters give the word IHTIS, which in Greek means “fish.” The fish is also a symbol of the souls of the saved Christians.
Catfish is a symbol of an adaptable personality and a human who can easily get along with the changes around.