JJ-AZ-31B - Aztec Jaguar Warrior

In most armies, uniforms are used to differentiate units. In the Aztec army uniforms served to differentiate men with different levels of military experience within the same unit. Rank descriptions in uniforms between warriors depended on how many captives each individual hed taken. A soldier who succeded in capturing four of the enemy was awarded a Jaguar suit and helmet. It was believed that to capture an enemy, honored 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 captured prisoners were offered as a sacrifice to the Aztec gods.
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. 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.