The representation of jaguars in Mesoamerican cultures has a long history, with iconographic
examples dating back to at least the mid-Formative period of Mesoamerican chronology.
The jaguar is an animal with a prominent association and appearance in the cultures and belief
systems of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican societies.
Quick, agile, and powerful enough to take down the largest prey in the jungle, the jaguar
is the largest of the big cats in the Americas, and one of the most efficient and aggressive
predators.
Endowed with a spotted coat and well adapted for the jungle, hunting either in the trees
or water, making it one of the few felines tolerant of water, the jaguar was, and remains,
revered among the indigenous Americans who live closely with the jaguar.
All major Mesoamerican civilizations prominently featured a jaguar god, and for many, such
as the Olmec, the jaguar was an important part of shamanism.
The Olmec civilization was first defined as a distinctive art style at the turn of the
nineteenth century.
The various sculpture, figurines, and celts from what now is recognized as the Olmec heartland
on the southern Gulf Coast, reveal that these people knew their jungle companions well and
incorporated them into their mythology.
In the surviving Olmec archaeological record, jaguars are rarely portrayed naturalistically,
but rather with a combination of feline and human characteristics.
These feline anthropomorphic figures may range from a human figure with slight jaguar characteristics
to depictions of shamanistic transformations in the so-called transformative pose, kneeling
with hands on knees, to figures that are nearly completely feline.
One of the most prominent, distinctive, and enigmatic Olmec designs to appear in the archaeological
record has been the "were-jaguar".
Seen not only in figurines, the motif also may be found carved into jade "votive axes"
and celts, engraved onto various portable figurines of jade, and depicted on several
"altars", such as those at La Venta.
Were-jaguar babies are often held by a stoic, seated adult male.
The were-jaguar figure is characterized by a distinctive down-turned mouth with fleshy
lips, almond-shaped eyes, and a cleft head similar – it is said – to that of the
male jaguar which has a cleft running vertically the length of its head.
It is not known what the were-jaguar represented to the Olmec, and it may well have represented
different things at different times.
The jaguar also is important for shamans who often associate the jaguar as a spirit companion
or nagual, which will protect the shamans from evil spirits and while they move between
the earth and the spirit realm.
In order for the shamans to combat whatever evil forces may be threatening, or for those
who rely on the shamans for protection, it is necessary for the shamans to transform
and cross over to the spirit realm.
The jaguar is often as a nagual because of its strength, for it is necessary that the
shamans "dominate the spirits, in the same way as a predator dominates its prey".
The jaguar is said to possess the transient ability of moving between worlds because of
its comfort both in the trees and the water, the ability to hunt as well in the nighttime
as in the daytime, and the habit of sleeping in caves, places often associated with the
deceased ancestors.
The concept of the transformation of the shaman is well documented in Mesoamerica and South
America and is in particular demonstrated in the various Olmec jaguar transformation
figures.
Integration of the jaguar into the sacred and secular realms of the Maya is proven in
the archaeological record.
The Maya, whose territory spanned the Yucatán Peninsula all the way to the Pacific coast
of Guatemala, was a literate society who left documentation of their lives and belief system
in the form of bas-relief sculpture on temples, stelae, and pottery.
Often depicted on these artifacts are the gods the Maya revered and it is no coincidence
that these gods often have jaguar attributes.
As stated earlier, the jaguar is said to have the ability to cross between worlds, and for
the Maya daytime and nighttime represented two different worlds.
The living and the earth are associated with the day, and the spirit world and the ancestors
are associated with the night.
As the jaguar is quite at home in the nighttime, the jaguar is believed to part of the underworld;
thus, "Maya gods with jaguar attributes or garments are underworld gods".
One such god is Xbalanque, one of the Maya Hero Twins who descended to the underworld,
and whose entire body is covered with patches of jaguar skin.
Another is God L, who is "the primary lord of the underworld" and often is shown with
a jaguar ear or jaguar attire, and atop a jaguar throne.
Not only is the underworld associated with the ancestors, but it also is understood as,
where plants originate.
In addition, the Maya's source of fresh water comes from underground pools in the porous
limestone that makes up the Yucatán, called cenotes.
These associations with water and plants further reinforce the notion of the jaguar as a god
of fertility.