Jaguar Warrior
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Jaguar warriors or jaguar knights, ''ocēlōtl'' (singular) or ''ocēlōmeh'' (
plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...
)''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1997). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 5, 2012, fro
link
/ref> were members of the Aztec military elite.Jaguar Warriors. Ixmiquilpan. Mexico murals
They were a type of Aztec
warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...
called a ''cuāuhocēlōtl'' . The word ''cuāuhocēlōtl'' derives from the
eagle warrior Eagle warriors or eagle knights (Classical Nahuatl: ''cuāuhtli'' (singular) or ''cuāuhmeh'' (plural)''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1997). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 5, 2012, frolink/ref>) were a special cl ...
''cuāuhtli'' and the Jaguar Warrior ''ocēlōtl''.Sánchez-Murillo, R. (2012). La palabra universal. ''Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo.'' Retrieved September 5, 2012, fro
link
.
They were an elite military unit similar to the eagle warriors. The
jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
motif was used due to the belief the jaguar represented
Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca (; nci, Tēzcatl ihpōca ) was a central deity in Aztec religion, and his main festival was the Toxcatl ceremony celebrated in the month of May. One of the four sons of Ōmeteōtl, Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, the God of providenc ...
. Aztecs also wore this dress at war because they believed the animal's strengths would be given to them during battles. Jaguar warriors were used at the battlefront in military campaigns. They were also used to capture prisoners for sacrifice to the Aztec gods. Many
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
s and images (in
pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
and post-Columbian
codices The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
) of these warriors have survived. They fought with a wooden club studded with
obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...
volcanic glass blades, called a
macuahuitl A macuahuitl () is a weapon, a wooden club with several embedded obsidian blades. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language and means "hand-wood". Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades traditionally made from obsidian. Obsidian is ...
. They also used spears and
atlatl A spear-thrower, spear-throwing lever or ''atlatl'' (pronounced or ; Nahuatl ''ahtlatl'' ) is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart or javelin-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to store ene ...
s. To become a jaguar warrior, a member of the Aztec army had to capture a total of four enemies from battles. This was said to honor their gods in a way far greater than killing enemy soldiers in the battlefield. For a warrior to kill an enemy was considered clumsy.


Education

The formal education of the Aztecs was to train and teach young boys how to function in their society as warriors. The Aztecs had no standing army, so every boy not of noble birth was trained to become a warrior. All boys who were between the ages of ten and twenty years old would attend one of the two schools. These two schools were the Telpochcalli (the neighborhood school for commoners) and the Calmecac, the exclusive school for nobles. At the Telpochcalli students would learn the art of warfare, and would become warriors. At the Calmecac students would be trained to become military leaders, priests, government officials, etc. At the age of 15, sons of commoners would be sent to a Telpochcalli within their neighborhood. Here, boys would be trained in the art of warfare and accustomed to military life. The instructors at these schools were veteran warriors who had experience in warfare and leadership. The schools focused on bravery and included a great deal of physical effort and intense pain to increase the strength and stamina of the students. Manual labor included transporting goods such as branches for firewood. The longer the student had attended the school, the more branches he would be expected to carry. This test of carrying firewood would be used to determine if the boy would do well in warfare. Other manual labor tasks carried out from the Telpochcalli would be community projects. These projects would mainly consist of cleaning areas, building walls, digging canals, and farming. From these projects, students would work hard to complete tasks, and gain the physical experience needed to engage in warfare. The students of this school would also be used to transport shields, food, military supplies, weapons, armor, and wood to warriors on the battlefield. The reason for forcing the students to be near the battlefield was to make them fearless of warfare. Students were under heavy surveillance at all times. If a student was caught leaving training his punishment would be severe. Often, he would be beaten and his hair removed. Removing a student's hair would remove any sign of that boy's being a warrior. Drinking
pulque Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous co ...
was prohibited; if caught, the student could be beaten to death. Relationships outside of the school were also prohibited; if a student was caught sleeping with a woman, he would be beaten to death, or severely punished.


Life as a jaguar warrior

Following the warrior's path was one of the few ways to change one's social status in Aztec culture. Eagle and Jaguar warriors were full-time warriors who worked for the city-state to protect merchants and the city itself. They were expected to be leaders and commanders both on and off the battlefield and acted as sort of a police force for the city. Men who reached this rank were considered as nobles and elites of society and were granted many of the same privileges as a noble. They were allowed to drink ''
pulque Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous co ...
'', have
concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...
s, and dine at the royal palace. Jaguar warriors also participated in gladiatorial sacrifices.


See also

*
Aztec warfare Aztec warfare concerns the aspects associated with the militaristic conventions, forces, weaponry and strategic expansions conducted by the Late Postclassic Aztec civilizations of Mesoamerica, including particularly the military history of the Az ...
*
Eagle warrior Eagle warriors or eagle knights (Classical Nahuatl: ''cuāuhtli'' (singular) or ''cuāuhmeh'' (plural)''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1997). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 5, 2012, frolink/ref>) were a special cl ...
*
Jaguars in Mesoamerican culture The representation of jaguars in Mesoamerican cultures has a long history, with iconographic examples dating back to at least the mid-Formative period of Mesoamerican chronology. The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is an animal with a prominent assoc ...


References

* Carrasco, David. ''Daily Life of The Aztecs: People of the Sun and Earth''. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. * Carrasco, D. 1998, 200. * Sahagun, Bernardino de. ''Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain''. Translated and edited by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble. 13 vols. Santa Fe: School of American Research, and University of Utah, 1950-1982. * Sahagun, ''Florentine Codex'', VIII: 52. * Smith, Michael E. ''The Aztecs''. 3rd Ed. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing, 2012. * Smith, M. 2012, 130. * Smith, M. 2012, 162. * Smith, M. 2012, 173-174. {{Social class Soldiers Aztec warfare Combat occupations Military units and formations of the Middle Ages Warriors