Cihuateteo

The Cihuateteo were divine women in Aztec religion who died during childbirth. These women, along with warriors who died in battle or on the sacrificial stone, were believed to ascend to the heavens to accompany the sun. The Cihuateteo were also thought to appear at night at crossroads, striking passersby with palsy.1

Aztec religion was a syncretic faith that incorporated beliefs from other Mesoamerican cultures. Key deities included Huitzilopochtli (god of war), Tonatiuh (god of the sun), Tlaloc (god of rain), and Quetzalcóatl (the Feathered Serpent). Human sacrifice and bloodletting were common practices, and the elaborate Aztec calendar governed religious ceremonies. The Aztecs believed the current world was the last in a series of creations, destined to end in a conflagration.1