ocelotl (TR16r)

This example of the iconography of a jaguar (ocelotl) from the Codex Telleriano Remensis is anthropomorphized, with the human head protruding from the animal's jaws and seemingly wearing the skin. The person is shown in profile, facing toward the viewer's left, and leaning forward as though walking. The skin of the jaguar retains the open eye and the protruding teeth, along with large claws and long sharp nails. The hide is a brown color with dark gray spots. Some black appears above the white eye and on the tips of the ears. The human face has a black band across his face at the level of his eyes. His teeth also show. The person carries a white banner on a long stick. He has a headdress with lots of down feathers and two long white (heron?) feathers; five of these long feathers also appear on an added tail. On the back of the skin is a skein of hair or rope (follow the link below for a very similar skein that appears in the place name glyph for Cuatzontepec in the Codex Mendoza).