"Aztec Knight Societies" Topic
9 Posts
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Inkpaduta | 01 Feb 2012 7:18 p.m. PST |
I have done a fair deal of research on the Aztecs both professionally and for wargaming. I have never come across Coyote or Arrow knights. Yet, many figure companies have these miniatures. Does anyone know anything about these knights? Who were they? Where is there information on them? What made someone a Coyote or Arrow Knight? |
Bowman | 01 Feb 2012 8:29 p.m. PST |
First, it is high time to jettison the term "knight" for these warrior societies. There is little relationship between them and European warriors of the same name. None of the current historians dealing with Mesoamericans warfare use this outdated term. Second, don't assume that if a manufacturer builds something, it existed. Especially in a poorly understood field like Mesoamericans warfare. A lot of holes are filled with guesswork and conjecture. I have a model of a WW2 super heavy Japanese tank, made by a very large, well known manufacturer. The tank never existed, it is from a sketch. That is from a mere 7 decades ago, not from 500 years ago. Ok now to the Eagles and Jaguars. All belligerent native societies had some type of elite warrior. For the Aztecs, these were the Quaquauhtin or Eagle Warriors, and the Ocelomeh or Jaguar Warriors. Sometimes the Aztecs combined these terms to make the "Quauhtlocelotl" describing the combined Eagle-Jaguar elites. There are two other similar, yet different elite warriors known as the Quachiqueh or Well Shorn Ones, and the Ontontin, or Otomies. These last two are more like the "Crazy Dogs" of the Crow Indians or the "Contrary Warriors" of the Plains tribes. As for the existence of the Arrow Warriors, there are small tantalizing hints of their existence. However, there is no mention of them in any of the surviving Codices or in any of the writings of the Conquistadores or later writers. There is no Nahuatl term for Arrow Warrior. There are no pictures of Arrow warriors. The Codex Mendoza shows uniforms of Eagles, Jaguars, Quauhchiques and Ontontin, but no Arrow uniforms. If I had to bet on it, I'd say they didn't exist. The Coyote Warriors are another thing. Enemy nations such as the Tlaxcaltecs and the Huexotzinca also had Elite and Veteran Warriors. The Tlaxcaltecs seem to wear various zoomorphic uniforms, of which many are Coyotes. In fact, there are many types of different coyote uniforms, and we have no idea what the significance is to that. Huexotzincan berserker warriors (similar to the Aztec Shorn Ones) also seem to have worn Coyote uniforms. Coyote uniforms were probably ubiquitous throughout the nations of central Mexico, even though there are few indications of Aztec Coyote suits. The best sources for these are the Codex Matritense and the Lienzo de Tlaxcala. Hope that helps. |
whill4 | 01 Feb 2012 9:06 p.m. PST |
A priest which had captured 6 or more enemies was entitled to wear the coyote suit. This suit is mentioned in the Codex Mendoza, the Florentine codex, mentioned by Lienzo de Tlaxcala and shown in the Primeros Memoriales. The Codex Mendoza always shows the coyote suit in yellow. The other sources describe or show the coyote suit in many different variations including: red, blue, black, white, fire and starry. Hope this helps. |
ancientsgamer | 02 Feb 2012 11:48 a.m. PST |
Not sure I agree with getting rid of the term knight societies. Here are some parallels. 1. Both advance through individual combat prowess. 2. Both have to earn the right to become part of the elite through combat. 3. They are exclusive groups and more often than not, your family did matter too. 4. They each apprentice to become members of the elite society. 5. They lived and fought by certain rules 6. There are parallels to them and knightly societies in how they looked/dressed and what colors they used. I understand why you don't think they are knights. But honestly, capturing your enemies was the goal. Didn't knights surrender to one another too but for ransom? Maybe brotherhoods would be a better term? After all, they captured enemies to have them sacrificed later on While not my religion, their acts were based on their religion. |
Kugelfang | 02 Feb 2012 1:22 p.m. PST |
IIRC, (and all my books are in storage so I can't really check) the concept of the Arrow Knights arose from an illustration by Anton Hoffman (?). I seem to recall that he was interpreting some pretty scant evidence for them and his interpretation of them as a distinct group has since been cast in doubt. |
Bowman | 02 Feb 2012 4:33 p.m. PST |
@whill4 Mea Culpas. You are correct in that I overlooked the priests. But, the Lienzo shows Tlaxcaltec Coyotes. @ancientgamer I would say most military organizations fit your points 1 and 2. 3 fits the quauchiquah and Ontontin also. I'll disagree with number 4. Youths ready to leave the tepochcalli school would help carry gear into battle for warriors. The next year they would fight and the next younger class would be the porters. That is not like a Squire spending years apprenticing to a Knight, in the hopes of becoming one himself. 5 applies to all levels of all armies, does it not? And 6 applies more to Aztec culture than European culture. Aztec culture was extremely controlled when it came to clothing, colors, fabrics, hairstyles and fashion that had no parallels in Europe. Imagine a European farmer put to death for wearing a cotton tunic that touched his knees. That sort of thing would happen in Tenochtitlan Your points on religion are well taken. Eagles and Jaguars had their own patron gods. Perhaps a similarity to the Templars and Hospitaliers? |
Bowman | 02 Feb 2012 4:42 p.m. PST |
Total War has a description of an Aztec Arrow Warrior that is hilariously wrong: link As an illustration they show an Aztec priest wearing the Cuextla suit with the Hawk scratches. Needless to say, this is a mid level Warrior Priest and NOT an Arrow Warrior. |
Oh Bugger | 03 Feb 2012 7:39 p.m. PST |
"Aztec culture was extremely controlled when it came to clothing, colors, fabrics, hairstyles and fashion that had no parallels in Europe." Well some European cultures had sumptary laws Romans and the Irish come to mind, others may have had too. |
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