Cihuacōātl
In Aztec mythology, Cihuācōātl [s̻iwaˈkoː(ʷ)aːt͡ɬ] ("snake woman"; also Cihuacóatl) was one of a number of motherhood and fertility goddesses.[nb 1][1] She was sometimes known as Quilaztli.[2]
Cihuacōātl was especially associated with midwives, and with the
Cihuacōātl held political symbolism as she represented victory for the Mexica state and the ruling class.[4]
Although she was sometimes depicted as a young woman, similar to Xōchiquetzal, she is more often shown as a fierce skull-faced old woman carrying the spears and shield of a warrior.[3] Childbirth was sometimes compared to warfare and the women who died in childbirth were honored as fallen warriors. Their spirits, the Cihuateteo, were depicted with skeletal faces like Cihuacōātl. Like her, the Cihuateteo were thought to haunt crossroads at night to steal children.[3]
Functionary of Tenochtitlan
The name cihuacoatl was used as a title for one of the low functionaries of [Tenochtitlan], the Aztec capital. The cihuacoatl supervised the internal affairs of the land as opposed to the Aztec ruler, who oversaw the affairs of the Aztec state. The cihuacoatl commanded the army of Tenochtitlan to the emperor. During the course of the 15th century AD
See also
- La Llorona (a similar modern myth)
Notes
- Tlazolteotl, and Toci.
Citations
References
Further reading
- Klein, Cecelia. Rethinking Cihuacoatl: Political Imagery of the Conquered Woman. Oxford, 1988.
- Nicholson, Henry B. “Religion in Pre-Hispanic Central Mexico.” In Handbook of Middle American Indians, edited by Gordon Ekholm and Ignacio Bernal, vol. 10, pp. 395–445. Austin, Tex., 1971.
- Sahagún, Bernardino de, 1950–1982, Florentine Codex: History of the Things of New Spain, translated and edited by Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles Dibble, Monographs of the school of American research, no 14. 13. parts Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press
- The History of the Indies of New Spain by Diego Durán, translated, annoted and with introduction by Doris Heyden
- The Book of the Gods and Rites, by Diego Duran, translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden, Chapter XIII