Jaguar warriors were members of the Aztec military.

The jaguar motif was used due to the

belief that the jaguar represented Tezcatlipoca, god of the night sky. Aztecs also wore these
dresses 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 preColumbian and post-Columbian codices) of these warriors have survived. They fought with a
wooden sword studded with obsidian volcanic glass blades, called a macuahuitl. They also
used spears and atlatls. They believed their feathered shield had magic powers.
To become a jaguar warrior, a member of the Aztec army had to capture twelve enemies
during two consecutive 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.
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. Trades such as farming and artisan skills were not taught at these schools.
At the age of 15, sons of commoners would be sent 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 Tepochcalli 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 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 their punishment would be severe. Often, they would be beaten and
their hair removed. By removing their hair they would remove any sign of them being a
warrior.
Following the warrior's path was one of the few ways to change your 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.