The jaguar is a main symbol of the Indians of Central America, whose traditions are rooted in the ancient cultures of the Aztecs and Maya.
In the image of the Maya jaguar – Beast master, the creature of the underworld, knows the secrets of the earth and acts as a guide to the souls of the dead.
They were convinced that the eyes were the mirror of its passage to the underworld and revealed the future to those who watched it closely.
The Aztec goddess of earth is depicted pregnant with a jaguar claws.
It is also believed that four jaguars represent the guardians of the road to peace.
In the tradition of the Toltecs the eagle symbolized the sun, the moon represented the jaguar (then thunder and rain), the twilight described the jaguar devouring the Sun. In addition, the spotted fur of the jaguar was compared to the starry sky, associated with the Aztec warrior god Tezcatlipoca, the god of the night, who appeared after falling on the earth. In modern shamanic cultures of Central America, the jaguar (according to legend, gave fire to man and suggested the art of hunting) is the most representative animal of the shaman, who, however, can also take its form.
The jaguar lives in tropical and subtropical forests, especially along the rivers, sometimes located in the mountains of the desert.
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a big cat, a feline of the new world, it leads a wandering life, lives alone, climbs and swims very well, and it is active at dawn and dusk.
It hunts deer, peccaries, tapirs, monkeys, agoutis, capybaras but rarely domestic animals. It can also eat fish and turtles.
In Western Europe, the jaguar is known, in more prosaic context, as the emblem of the car manufacturer "Jaguar" and in this way people pay homage to the speed, grace and power of this big cat.
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