| Jaguar warriors or jaguar knights, ocēlōtl Nahuatl pronunciation: [oˈseːloːt͡ɬ] (singular) or ocēlōmeh [oseːˈloːmeʔ] (plural) were members of the Aztec military elite. They were a type of Aztec warrior called a cuāuhocēlōtl [kʷaːwoˈseːloːt͡ɬ] (derived from cuāuhtli [ˈkʷaːʍt͡ɬi] ("eagle") and ocēlōtl ("jaguar")). They were an elite military unit similar to the eagle warriors.
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. Jaguar warriors were used at the battlefront in military campaigns. They were also used to capture prisoners for sacrifice to the Aztec gods. Many statues and images (in pre-Columbian and post-Columbian codices) of these warriors have survived. 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. 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. |
