The Mendocino is an illustrated manuscript codex, painted by tlacuilos Mexica, after being painted were added descriptions written in Spanish, was commissioned by the first viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza to send Carlos I, King of Spain, report on the territories that had been conquered.
In this chapter I focused only on registration sheets from the Codex Mendoza taxes or Mendocino where jaguar costumes and Miztli (puma) mentioned, these pages are:
The tuition tax Codex Mendoza, as its name indicates, is intended to record the tributes paid by the various provinces under the Mexica domain.
A total of 71 sheets of taxes, which requested the Mexica foods like beans, amaranth, honey, chia, chile, etc. .; utensils such as bowls, bark paper, etc.; clothing and blankets, blouses, maxtlatl (loincloth), pens, necklaces, among others more, but also requested elaborate costumes for their soldiers, including costumes and jaguar puma.
The making of these suits was common, and evidenced by his mention repeatedly in taxes sheets. Although only a small number of suits were asked, usually a warrior costume or a warrior Jaguar Puma adorned with fine feathers were asked; however, if they were feathers current 20 warrior costumes either jaguar or puma asked.
The reduced amount of these taxes, differs from the hundreds of cotton blankets, blouses, loincloth, gourds, which were requested. This leads us to conclude that these suits were probably difficult to make or not many needed.
Chances are that these outfits are made of cotton because the eastern part of the state of Morelos, which is represented in the sheets 24 and verse 25 straight mentions a jaguar costume was requested, but here in this region do not There jaguars and think it is very unlikely to have existed in those times, in the same way either jaguars in the other provinces in the current Federal District and State of Mexico.
The cats that currently can be found in the state of Morelos are mainly found in the Reserve of the Sierra de Huautla-Cerro Frio, inhabited by five of the six cats existing in our country that I mentioned earlier. So I think the suits cited in this codex, they were made of cotton or some other material, because we can see clearly that when applying skin Jaguar as specified in detail as evidenced Print 47 Straight to mention the taxes of the Province of Soconusco .
This means that the jaguar and puma were important to the Aztecs, the degree of animal disguise them.Probably felt that by disguising jaguar acquired its power.
Perhaps the feeling they felt when the disguise of these cats are currently in the dance category called "Dances Jaguar hunt" which is traditionally dancing on the territory previously populated the Nahuas and border areas with other cultures, as evidenced by the maps presented below:
The map (A) refers to the extension of tax -Tenochtitlán provinces of Mexico.
On the Map (B), the villages were taxed suits Jaguar and Puma, and also mentioned that the Province taxed Jaguar skins mentioned.
And on the Map (C), quoted below, represents the villages traditionally dance the dances of the Jaguar hunting in these dances some people dress up Jaguar and other hunters.
In these maps we can see the provinces that they made suits jaguars and pumas, as a tribute to Moctecozuma, in these same provinces it continues to this day concocting and dressing Jaguars, except for the region currently occupied by the Federal District, northern the state of Mexico, northern Puebla and northern Veracruz, where this tradition has gone to the extent that it is only a single village called Tantoyuca, Veracruz where Tigrillo Dance dancing.
But something curious Nahua region of northern states of Veracruz and Puebla is here dance called Dance of the Tejoneros, which is very similar to the "Dances hunt Jaguar", only instead of hunting Jaguar or Tecuani in this region is chasing a "Badger" and "Woodpecker", but are very similar because they are both comic and festive theatrical dances, also share some characters such as "dog", the hunter with gun , among others.
So the question arises, is there a relationship between villages that currently perform traditional dances costumed jaguar those villages who produced costumes Jaguar in ancient times, as represented by the enrollment of the Mendoza codex taxes ?, I think so because many regions and even many villages currently disguised as dance Tiger or Jaguar, are cited as tax jaguar costumes in this codex, to name a few.
In the state of Morelos
1. Axochiapan
2. Coatetelco, Miacatlán
3. Ocotepec, Cuernavaca
4.-Tepalcingo
Previously it was danced in others mentioned in codex Mendocino Tepoztlan village, but stopped danced in the course of the twentieth century.
In the state of Guerrero:
1. Teloloapan
2. Tlapa
3. Huitzuco
4. Taxco
5. Huamuxtitlán
6. Acapetlahuaya
And many villages more ...
Obviously requesting suits jaguar and puma to use, and thus disguised maybe they felt a similar way superheroes that appear in the cartoons of today, such as Spiderman, Batman, Santo, Blue Demon, and everything else.
Probably the costume jaguar or puma would give them greater security and influenced more fear in their rivals, so it must have been, otherwise the dress of these cats would not make sense, ie it must have a value because the war, politics, religion and other human activities, people dress up items that help you perform your function, in this case the jaguar costume while offering protection was scary, because the jaguar and puma were the biggest and most dangerous beasts known Mesoamerican peoples and were rivals in the food chain.
We can also mention our helpers from other codices that rulers were frequently adorned with leather Jaguar and not only them but also the gods were adorned with fur Jaguar bone that the custom of dressing jaguar, vulture, deer and other animals of some dances current are influenced by traditional dances that have been performed since pre-Hispanic times, as was common for Mesoamerican animal disguise.
Well back to the topic that interests us, the jaguar and the puma, jaguar but mainly accounted for Mesoamerican a cluster of virtues, the ruling represents power, courage, warrior, warlock mystery - nagual-since the jaguar is a nocturnal -. Even several researchers, including Dr. María del Carmen Valverde Valdez, have mentioned that the jaguar was considered a deity associated with fertility and maize. The jaguar was associated with the night, and the eagle, with the Sun.
The jaguar is an emblematic animal of Mesoamerican cultures, whether it is present in the carvings and figures of the mother culture, the Olmec culture, and there continues to be represented in the Teotihuacan culture, Mayan, Mixtec and finally the Nahua, among others.
Jaguar seems to be a very important for a people who were imminently farmer animal. To dress in Western culture may seem to jaguar infant, but it was not for these Mesoamerican villages feared the jaguar and puma, and apparently remembered this fear constantly, as evidenced, for example the Olmec archaeological site Chalcatzingo, Morelos where can find three bas-reliefs representing Ferocious Feline subjecting human.