Aztecs

[Jack]

A new project for me. 28mm from Outpost Wargames Services.  
With thanks to CDM for all his work.


Other warriors etc on my blog.

[cdm]

I did have a read of your blog

Some interesting figures and I love how Outpost give you a whole bunch of different banner options that no one else does.

If you paint another batch of Aztecs, I would make one suggestion, which is to not do plain white loin cloths on ranked warriors.

I should type up a long story with example pics, but this cut and paste from an old document of mine may give a little insight.

The loincloth (maxtlatl) was of woven cotton, sometimes embroidered at the ends. The level and style of embroidery is directly related to the status of the wearer. Novice warriors do not wear embroidered loincloths, and commoners could only wear plain off white maguey until they attained the rank of tequihua. Extremely high level commanders have more ornate loincloths dyed with a red colour (ie not a base white colour). Patterns and colours for embroidery are dominantly red, with some black or orange. The war suit descriptions [in my document] indicate some loincloths where they are known to be associated with that suit.

Codex Mendoza shows all the tribute suits with a plain white maxtlatl. I believe this an artistic feature indicating merely that a maxtlatl was worn but not supplied. The Matricula, showing the same suits, indicates at times the maxtlatl the same colour as the suit. Some of the cloths pictured as separate tribute are very colourful, with blue, red, green and yellow. It is probable some of these are the ones actually worn by various warriors.

The Florentine Codex supplies a list of breech cloths associated with the rulers and nobles and are listed as follows.
Ivy design embroidered at the ends; with marketplace design; with eagle’s leg design; with turquoise mosaic mirror design; with butterfly design at the ends; striped in many colours; of twenty pieces with wind jewel design at the end; tawny coloured with embroidery at the ends; carmine coloured with ocelot head; ocelot with a step design; coyote fur with the eagle head; with feathered disks at the end; with radiating embroidery at the ends. [Some of these are illustrated in the Primeros]

[damianlz]

Fantastic work jack. We need more Aztecs and this is great to see. I have pledged for the new azTec kickstarter but if it falls through I am buying a tone of outpost games.

Cdm I could just follow your posts everywhere In admiration

[folnjir]

They are very nicely done.

[cdm]

One snippet, you probably didn't join the eagle or ocelots. The two are either part of the same grouping, or you could be in both if they are separate.

This old text I wrote may be of interest, though it is not yet edited or complete:

6.2.1 Eagle & jaguar Warriors - knights of the sun
"Oquichtli (Brave Man)- The brave man is tall, very tall, small, fat, thin, very fat, very thin, somewhat like a stone pillar, moderately capable, good of appearance. The brave man is an eagle or jaguar warrior, scarred, painted, courageous, brave, resolute. The good, the true brave man is one who stands as a man, who is firm of heart, who charges, who strikes out at his foe. He stands as a man, he rallies, he takes courage, he charges, he strikes out at the foe. He fears no one, none can meet his gaze. The bad brave man is one who leads others to destruction by his deception, who secretly puts one in difficulty, who visits others houses, who yells, who slays others viciously, who treacherously foresakes one, who swoons with terror. He becomes frightened, he swoons with terror, he secretly puts one in difficulty."

Upon taking four captives in war the warrior was inducted into the ranks of the tequihua and earned true distinction and social status. Without achieving 4 captives, those of noble birth were restricted in the social distinctions they could wear, even if part of the royal family. Clearly achievement in war was a requisite for the heights of the social and political spheres and considered a societal ideal.

Upon reaching tequihua status the warrior became exempt from paying tribute, was granted lands to support him etc

It is not clear, though highly likely due to the language used in the nahua texts, that being a tequihua also equates with being an eagle/jaguar warrior, or more commonly in the texts reduced to simply an eagle.

The eagle and jaguar pairing was an ancient tradition long before the arrival of the Aztecs. Reduced to their basic religious iconography they could be considered a pairing of the jaguar as the original mother/nature/earth goddess and the eagle as the newer male/solar/warfare god. While the Aztec mythos is notable for the duality of much of its iconography, in the military sense the duality of eagle/jaguar and tlacatecatl/tlacochcalcatl stand out, there is some slight bias in favour of the eagle probably brought about by the association of the temple of the eagles beside the base of the temlpe of Huitzilopochtli and the fact that the eagle was more representative of the Tenochca’s prime god as the warrior/air diety. It may well be the Aztecs already brought the eagle belief with them in their journeys while the jaguar/eagle association had to be adopted from the people and beliefs they found existing within central America.

How the jaguar remains part of a societal view of the warrior within a cult of the sun is probably due to the Aztec nature of absorbing historical motifs into their own beliefs rather than replacing what has gone before.

Some of this ‘justification’ for retaining the jaguar may be glimpsed in the myth of the creation of the fifth sun when Nanahuatl falls into the sacrificial fire to take his place as the sun. He carries an eagle with him into the fire, but the jaguar, falcon and coyote are left behind and are only singed by the fire. Sahagun however states the jaguar case more strongly and plainly links the eagle and jaguar together: “and it is said the eagle entered the fire and also burned itself, and for that reason has brown or blackened feathers. Finally a jaguar entered [the fire.] It did not burn itself, it was only singed, and for that reason was stained black and white. From here was taken the custom of calling men who were dexterous in war ‘quauhtlocelotl.’ ['EagleOcelot'] And the eagle was named first because it was the first to cast itself into the fire.”

Non nobles also achieved distinction and become in effect de facto nobles for thier lifetime but with lesser distinctions. They also then formed a new noble lineage with their descendants attaining all rights as full nobles. I use the term full nobles as they had the same privileges as the historic noble families, though it is unclear whether they were in any way able to aspire to be a ‘higher  noble’ lineage fit for rule or high offices. Prior to the ascension of Monteczuma II  the evidence seems to indicate that in fact they could, though after Monteczuma II’s decree covering nobility and who would qualify for it, it is likely these lesser noble lineages were forever more going to be considered as a rung up from the commoners but not a true noble.

I have used the name Eagle/Jaguar Warrior to define what we would loosely refer to as the military order, as opposed to the Eagle or Jaguar suits, which I have named Cuauhtli and Ocelotl to minimise confusion. A list of warrior battle suits and items is given in the Primeros Memoriales , which gives a major pointer to what formed the Eagle/Jaguar warrior society. This list is set out below.
Fully illustrated warrior:
* Yellow Quaxalotl banner with red ehuatl tunic and gold sun disk shield (illustrated in section XXX)
* White Heron banner with white ehuatl with Ychimal shield (illustrated in section XXX)
* Yellow coyote suit with black disk shield (illustrated in section XXX)
Warrior Banners (illustrated in section XXX)
* Tlapol Quaxalotl
* Yztac Quaxalotl
* Tlacuch Patzactli
* Cuecal Patzactli
* Cacal Patzactli
* Tlecocomoctli
* Tlapallivitelolotli
* Yztac Ivitelolotli
* Macuil Pamitl
* Aztatzutli
* Aztacopilli
* Tuzcocolli
* Tlapalitzmitl
* Tlil Papalotl
* Xacalli
* Caltzagualli
* Cacacalli
* Tzipito
* Tlaquimiloli
* Mexayacatlaviztli
* Ytz Papalotl
* Tlazimaluapalli
* Vexolotl
* Yxtlapal Pamitl
* Chimallaviztl
Warrior Shields (illustrated in section)
* Ixcoliuhqui
* Citlallo
* Tecacanecuito
* Texoxapo
* Macpalo
* Yhuiteteyo
* Yhuite Couhqui
* Tlahavitectli

Coyote Suits
Red, Fire Coyote, Citlallo Coyote, Black Coyote (illustrated in section XXX)

The Primeros also gives a list of Noble warriors, inferring that these types are not Eagle warriors. In my view these are those of royal lineages rather than regular nobles, the clue being the dominance of the prized quetzal feathers..
Fully illustrated warrior:
* Quetzal Patzactli with turquoise ehuatl and red xicalcoliuhqui (ruler) (illustrated in section XXX)
* Quetzal Papalotl with green ehuatl with red cuexyo (ruler) (illustrated in section XXX)
* Gold Pamitls with yellow ehuatl and skull shield (noble) (illustrated in section XXX)
Noble Head Coverings (illustrated in section XXX)
* Quetzal Horns
* Quetzal Tzitzimitl
* Quetzal Hair
* Ananacaztli
Noble Banners (illustrated in section XXX)
* Quetzal Pamitl
* Troupial Pamitl
* Quetzal Banner
* Xolo Papalotl
* Caqua Tonatiuh
* Ometoch Tlaviztli
* Tzatza Tzitli
* Troupial Papalotl
* Teucuitlauevetl
* Quetzal Copolli
Noble Shields (illustrated in section XXX)
Eagle Claw, Ocelot Claw, Silver disks, Quetzal Cleft
Coyote Suits
Brown, Blue White (illustrated in section XXX)

Therefore, to begin with just from the list, we have some of the major suit types listed in the Mendoza warrior/priest lists as Eagle warriors. It includes the Quaxalotl banner, the most senior army commander in the field. There also listed coyote suits, which are the highest level of priestly suit. There are also most of the Patzactlis, and low quality Papalotls, and Toxicocolli.

From the nobles list there is a couple of interesting exclusions, [complete text].

“And the Eagle Warrior who was only a brave warrior took his eagle vestments. And when he took one captive, when he took two, this was also being an example of how one was to live.”

“And...if there were no captives, if no one were stand on the stone of gladiatorial sacrifice. For this reason the noblemen were admonished, the eagle warriors were admonished...Therefore it was said that no longer did those being reared, those being educated, the eagle and jaguar warriors, the young warriors, the young priests, the women, the maidens perform their penances...It was said that he impeded something in battle; he hindered the eagle and jaguar warriors...None of the eagle and jaguar warriors took captives.”

“And there was only the eagle warrior, the jaguar warrior, there was only the lord. They only followed after the noblemen.”

“about how his eagle warriors, his jaguar warriors, his common folk advanced along the road, about how they would engage in battle....But if perhaps his eagle warriors, his jaguar warriors, his common folk had gone to perish, if they had perished, he was very sad about it.”

Privileges of great warriors : “allowed to dress in cotton clothing, wear sandals, enter into the palace, eat of the royal food, drink cacao, use flowers and tubes of tobacco, have all the wives a man could support, take part in royal dances, eat human flesh, drink wine, build a house with more than one story, vote in meetings that deal with war, be exempt from paying tribute, taxes, or any other tithe or imposition of personal service, and meet with the warriors of the sun, whom they call eagle knights.”

Eagle warriors, along with Ocelots, formed one of the two central Aztec military orders if they were separate, the Eagles being based on a cult of the sun, while the Ocelots were based on the night.

The origins of the symbiosis between the Eagle and Ocelot stretch back long before the Aztecs wandered into the picture in Central America. References to Eagle and Ocelot warriors often refer to them together, in several instances quite specifically a warrior of one type goes off with a warrior of another type.  This probably refers to a religious balance between the day and night. I feel it is more than likely that these two animal warrior societies merged in prehistoric times into a more uniform society which was also probably wrapped up in the control of the tlatoani over the warrior societies and its integration into sedentary ‘civilised’ life.

In fact their link is so tight that mention is made of one warrior clad in a suit half Eagle and half Ocelot. “And the brave warrior Coyoueuetzin put on the device of an eagle/ocelot warrior, half eagle, half ocelot.”  While this may tend to indicate a warrior suit split left and right between the two, some graphic evidence exists that indicates such a combination might consist of the suit of the Ocelot with the helm of the Eagle.

The criteria for being selected as an Eagle (or Ocelot) warrior are not yet clearly understood. All of the named warriors in the Florentine Codex  who are described as wearing Eagle (or Ocelot) suits are higher ranking warriors, some even being the attending generals. We even have the unusual situation of warriors being described at different times as wearing Eagle and Ocelot suits, so that in essence some warriors had at least 3 suits - Eagle, Ocelot, and their rank suit. This might imply that different suits were worn depending on how the warrior was expected to behave or how he was trying to inspire his followers.

The Primeros Memoriales gives many interesting comments on the Eagle Warrior, including a list of accouterments of the eagle warrior. A number of comments are worth quoting to clarify my assessment of what constitutes an eagle warrior.

[FierceKitty]

I DO hope I live to see Aztecs in 10mm!

[Bowman]

"Codex Mendoza shows all the tribute suits with a plain white maxtlatl. I believe this an artistic feature indicating merely that a maxtlatl was worn but not supplied."

Interesting point.