by Pénélope Trahin
In many parts of Mesoamerica during the Classic period, childbirth was considered a fight against death. A woman who died with her child in her womb during her first childbirth was honoured and deified like a warrior who died on the battlefield. My research revolves around the cult of these women, called Cihuateteo (or ‘divine women’), as well as the iconography of these deities, the feasts and ceremonies dedicated to them and the temples where they were honoured. This research is based on archaeological and ethnohistoric data as well as comparative analysis and ethnographic analogy.