135+ Tribal Arrowhead Tattoo Designs for Men (2024) Traditional Style

Men simply love tattoo designs that are small, unique, meaningful and manly. Arrowhead tattoos possess all these qualities. The arrowhead tattoo designs are inspired by the ancient Native American tribal tattoo art.

It was common among Native Americans to have tattoos of their favorite weapons on their bodies. Arrow and Arrowhead were one of the best choices.

Arrowhead Tattoo Meaning

As the name suggests the arrowhead refers to the pointy edge of an arrow that pierces the target. Arrows were the most common weapons among ancient civilizations all over the world. Therefore Arrow and Arrowhead tattoos are popular in mainstream tattoo culture.

Usually, the Arrowhead tattoo would represent focus, courage, and masculinity but its meaning can vary according to design and placement. The most common meanings of Arrowhead tattoos are –

Focus – One needs to have focus and patience while learning archery. An Archer has to focus on its prey (its movement) and point the arrowhead in that direction. Therefore, the Arrowhead tattoo would represent your focus towards your goals and life.

Masculinity – Due to its Piercing nature, Arrowhead is often linked with masculinity. Ancient Native American tribes often linked the arrowhead piercing ability to the penetrative ability of the archer. An Archer would often boast about the sharpness of his arrows which also hints (double meaning) towards his $exual prowess.

If you want it to represent it through your tattoo then you can give a phallic symbolism to your arrowhead tattoo.
Aboriginal Roots – Most people love to have traditional or tribal tattoo designs just to express how proud they are of their ancestry and heritage. If you belong to the aboriginal tribes then a tribal arrowhead tattoo would be the best pick for you.

Weapon Master – Another common practice among tattoo lovers Is to have weapon tattoos to showcase that they are experts in a particular weapon. If you love archery or you also participate in archery championships then an arrowhead tattoo would look meaningful on you.

Fighting Nature –Sadly many tattoos are also linked to toxic masculinity and gangs. In recent years arrowhead tattoo has also become a popular gang-related tattoo. Therefore, many inmates get tattooed with arrowhead tattoo design to indicate that they have not lost their old ways and they are ready for a fight anytime, anywhere.

Hunter – Another little known meaning of arrowhead tattoo is Hunting. Ancient Aztec, Maori, and Native American tribes used Arrows to hunt animals for their survival. An Arrowhead tattoo can represent your hunter attitude or it can also represent your love for great outdoors.

Tribal Arrowhead Tattoo Designs

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Indians gave importance to the tools and weapons that either made their life easy or helped them to survive. Arrows were not only useful in hunting down wild boars for food but also helped them to fight other tribes or predators.

A Tribal Arrowhead tattoo is usually inked on arms. Many artists recommend adding other native American symbols to make the tattoo even more meaningful. Before adding any Indian symbol you must be aware of its meaning and how it can improve the overall tattoo design.

Arrows used by Indians were not too pointy or sharp therefore a tribal arrowhead tattoo will give a rigid rough appearance as if made up of stone.

Traditional Arrowhead Tattoo Designs

The traditional arrowhead tattoo design will follow the same old school tattoo technique where a tattoo design is given a solid black outline with the red, blue, yellow and green color palette.

In the American traditional version, many artists love to add rising sun or Bald eagle in the Indian arrowhead tattoo just to make it more patriotic.

Arrowhead Tattoo Ideas

You can add several other designs in your arrowhead tattoo to make an overall perfect combination tattoo. The most popular Combinations are –

STONE ARROWHEAD TATTOO – In this design, the arrowhead is given the appearance as if it is carved from a rock from The Flintstones era.

ARROWHEAD OUTLINE TATTOO – Such designs are carried out using the dot-work technique. A Solid black line will also make it distinct.

CHEROKEE ARROWHEAD TATTOO – In these designs, the part of the staff will also be shown along with arrowhead. Also, the arrowhead may or may not have a cloth tied to it which symbolizes good omen. Mostly Cherokee arrowhead tattoo will indicate as if they have been used and now broken.

CELTIC ARROWHEAD TATTOO – These tattoo designs would be inspired by the Celtic tattoo art.

POLYNESIAN ARROWHEAD TATTOO – Another popular version is Polynesian arrowhead which is usually opted by the aboriginal people of Australia and Newzealand.