This armband tattoo was prepared for Christopher and it includes some animals from the Chinese zodiac to represent the members of his family: dragon, two snakes, rat, tiger, and monkey.
Each animal includes elements that symbolize the characteristics of that specific person, like a mere in the rat (a symbol of the chief, representing respect, status and courage), shark teeth in one snake for adaptability and strength, and spearheads in the other for the warrior, two chasing birds in the body of the tiger to symbolize she will always be there to help the people she cares for, waves and mountains in the body of the monkey to symbolize passion for the outdoors, and a frangipani in the dragon for beauty and protection.
All of them have stylized birds inside to symbolize independence, freedom and higher perspective.
To connect all the animals together there is a row of enata on top symbolizing relatives and ancestors, birds symbolizing voyages, and shark teeth for protection.
The colored legenda below shows the individual elements within the tattoo: