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Cihuacōātl[a] was one of a number of motherhood and fertility goddesses[b][1] inAztec mythology. She was sometimes known as Quilaztli.[2]
Cihuacōātl was especially associated with midwives, and with thesweat lodges where midwives practiced.[3] She is paired withQuilaztli and was considered a protectress of theChalmeca people and patroness of the city ofCulhuacan.[3] She helpedQuetzalcoatl create the current race of humanity by grinding upbones from theprevious ages, and mixing it with hisblood. She is also the mother ofMixcoatl, whom she abandoned at a crossroads. Tradition says that she often returns there to weep for her lost son, only to find asacrificialknife.[citation needed]
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 toXōchiquetzal, 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, theCihuateteo, were depicted with skeletal faces like Cihuacōātl. Like her, the Cihuateteo were thought to haunt crossroads at night to steal children.[3]
The wordcihuacoatl was also used as a title for a male high official in Aztec society, second-in-command to thetlatoani (Nahuatl word for ruler), and acted as his chief advisor and ceremonial substitute. Seen metaphorically as a type of consort, the man named as cihuacoatl embodied Cihuacōātl's female principles. Together, both rulers represented male and female ideals for parents in Aztec society, both seen as necessary for good governance.[5] While thecihuacoatl supervised the internal affairs of the land, thetlatoani oversaw the affairs of the Mexica state.
Thecihuacoatl commanded the army of Tenochtitlan to the emperor. During the course of the 15th century AD,Tlacaelel served ascihuacoatl under four emperors:Moctezuma I,Axayacatl,Tizoc andAhuizotl.[3]
