Wildcat Ancestor-Spirit of Maya
In Maya belief the jaguar is the great guardian of the underworld: each night the sun takes jaguar form to travel through Xibalba, the realm of the dead. Jaguar ancestor-spirits and protectors watch over lineage and territory, and rulers dressed in jaguar pelts and sat on jaguar thrones to claim this night power, as carved at Tikal, Palenque and Naranjo.