The jaguar motif was used due to the belief the jaguar represented Tezcatlipoca. Aztecs also wore this dress at war because they believed the animal's strengths would be given to them during battles.[4] Jaguar warriors were used at the battlefront in military campaigns. They were also used to capture prisoners for sacrifice to the Aztec gods.[2] Many statues and images (in pre-Columbian and post-Columbian codices) of these warriors have survived.[5] They fought with a wooden club studded with obsidian volcanic glass blades, called a macuahuitl. They also used spears and atlatls.
To become a jaguar warrior, a member of the Aztec army had to capture a total of four enemies from battles.[6] 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.
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.[7] 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 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.
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, have concubines, and dine at the royal palace. Jaguar warriors also participated in gladiatorial sacrifices.
^ abNahuatl Dictionary. (1997). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 5, 2012, from link
^ abJaguar Warriors. Ixmiquilpan. Mexico murals 2009-04-20 at the Wayback Machine
^ abSánchez-Murillo, R. (2012). La palabra universal. Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo. Retrieved September 5, 2012, from link 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine.
^Saunders, Nicholas J. "Predators of Culture: Jaguar Symbolism and Mesoamerican Elites". World Archaeology. 26 (1): 108. JSTOR 124867.
^Pre-Columbian Stock Photography, Pre-Hispanic Stock Photos, Mesoamerican Travel Photos 2007-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
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.
January 27, 2023
jaguar, warrior, jaguar, knights, ocēlōtl, nahuatl, pronunciation, oˈseːloːt, listen, singular, ocēlōmeh, oseːˈloːmeʔ, plural, were, members, aztec, military, elite, they, were, type, aztec, warrior, called, cuāuhocēlōtl, kʷaːwoˈseːloːt, word, cuāuhocēlōtl, de. Jaguar warriors or jaguar knights ocelōtl Nahuatl pronunciation oˈseːloːt ɬ listen singular 1 or ocelōmeh oseːˈloːmeʔ plural 1 were members of the Aztec military elite 2 They were a type of Aztec warrior called a cuauhocelōtl kʷaːwoˈseːloːt ɬ 3 The word cuauhocelōtl derives from the eagle warrior cuauhtli ˈkʷaːʍt ɬi and the Jaguar Warrior ocelōtl 3 They were an elite military unit similar to the eagle warriors An Aztec Jaguar warrior The jaguar motif was used due to the belief the jaguar represented Tezcatlipoca Aztecs also wore this dress at war because they believed the animal s strengths would be given to them during battles 4 Jaguar warriors were used at the battlefront in military campaigns They were also used to capture prisoners for sacrifice to the Aztec gods 2 Many statues and images in pre Columbian and post Columbian codices of these warriors have survived 5 They fought with a wooden club studded with obsidian volcanic glass blades called a macuahuitl They also used spears and atlatls To become a jaguar warrior a member of the Aztec army had to capture a total of four enemies from battles 6 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 Contents 1 Education 2 Life as a jaguar warrior 3 See also 4 ReferencesEducation EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 7 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 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 EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Bronze relief by Jesus Fructuoso Contreras depicting Cacamatzin 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 have concubines and dine at the royal palace Jaguar warriors also participated in gladiatorial sacrifices See also EditAztec warfare Eagle warrior Jaguars in Mesoamerican cultureReferences Edit a b Nahuatl Dictionary 1997 Wired Humanities Project University of Oregon Retrieved September 5 2012 from link a b Jaguar Warriors Ixmiquilpan Mexico murals Archived 2009 04 20 at the Wayback Machine a b Sanchez Murillo R 2012 La palabra universal Ricardo Sanchez Murillo Retrieved September 5 2012 from link Archived 2013 10 29 at the Wayback Machine Saunders Nicholas J Predators of Culture Jaguar Symbolism and Mesoamerican Elites World Archaeology 26 1 108 JSTOR 124867 Pre Columbian Stock Photography Pre Hispanic Stock Photos Mesoamerican Travel Photos Archived 2007 04 17 at the Wayback Machine Anawalt Patricia 1980 Costume and Control Aztec Sumptuary Laws Archeology 33 1 40 JSTOR 41726816 Anawalt Patricia 1980 Costume and Control Aztec Sumptuary Laws Archeology 33 1 34 JSTOR 41726816 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jaguar warrior amp oldid 1091127131, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
