Information AboutCihuacoatl |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CIHUACOATL | |
| aztec goddesses | |
| death goddesses | |
| fertility goddesses | |
| childhood goddesses | |
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Cihuacoatl was especially associated with midwives, and with the sweatbaths where midwives practiced. She is paired with Quilaztli and was considered a protectress of Chalmeca and patroness of Culhuacan . She helped Quetzalcoatl create the current race of humanity by grinding up Bone s from the previous ages, and mixing it with his Blood . She is also the mother of Mixcoatl , who she abandoned at a crossroads. Tradition says that she often returns there to weep for her lost son, only to find a Sacrificial Knife . Although she was sometimes depicted as a young woman, similar to Xochiquetzal , she is more often shown as a fierce skull-faced old woman carrying the spears and shield of a warrior. 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 Cihuacoatl. Like her, the Cihuateteo are thought to haunt crossroads at night to steal children. ''Cihuacoatl'' was also a noble title among the Aztecs, given to the secondary ruler of Tenochtitlan who was responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the capital city. Tlacaelel served as Cihuacoatl under four Aztec kings (Tlatoanis) during the 15th Century . As Cihuacoatl he counselled the ruler and personally took charge of the military and public sacrifices. SEE ALSO
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