Women in Aztec civilization
Aztec civilization saw the rise of a military culture that was closed off to women and made their role more prescribed to domestic and reproductive labor and less equal.
The status of Aztec women in society was further altered in the 16th century, when Spanish conquest forced European norms onto the indigenous culture.
In the early days of the Aztecs, before they settled in Tenochtitlan, women owned property and had roughly equal legal and economic rights.
Her kinswomen would decorate her arms and legs with red feathers, and paint her face with a paste containing small shimmering crystals.
Couples could petition for legal separation for a number of reasons, including incompatibility, infertility, or abuse.
These women were proficient in dealing with difficulties arising during pregnancy and labour but as most of the information we have about their practices is passed on from upper class Aztec men and the Spanish conquerors, much of the traditional knowledge has been lost.
[7] If she did not it was believed that the semen may act like glue and the baby would not come out, or if it did it would be feeble with misshaped fingers and toes and covered in what looks like atole so that everyone would see how the couple could not abstain, and they would be shamed.
[14] To induce labour the tlamatlquiticitl would at first give the mother Montanoa tomentosa, and failing that, they would then administer a drink made from possum tail, that was shown to prompt contractions.
[11] The act of birthing was considered a battle and the tlamatlquiticitl would give the mother a miniature shield and spear for the fight.
[21] According to the birthing almanacs such as the Codex Yoalli Ehēcatl the umbilical cord was planted to ensure the relationship between the gods and child.
[21] If the child died in childbirth, the tlamatlquiticitl would employ an obsidian knife to remove the fetus in pieces so as not to harm the mother.
[23] Women who died during childbirth were given the same honour as a soldier who was slain in battle, and were portrayed as spirits known as cihuateteo.
[27] And there were five objects for boys, which had to do with male professions: an obsidian blade representing a featherworker, a brush for a scribe, an awl that carpenters work with, a tool used by goldsmiths, and shields with a bow and arrow for a warrior.
[27] The water she used to cleanse the outside and inside of the body does not serve the same symbolic function that it does in a Christian baptism, but rather it is used to arouse the spirit of the child and let the gods in.
[31] After the ceremony the tlamatlquiticitl would swaddle the child and give a speech to the mother on how valiantly she had fought and how it was time for rest.
[25] Women mainly worked inside the home, spinning and weaving thread from cotton, henepen, or maquey agave.
Cotton was generally used, and dyes came from blue clays, yellow ochres, and red came from insects living in nopal cacti.
This meant that while women were denied access to one of the largest sources of wealth and prestige within Aztec society, they were less likely to be killed in battle.
The surviving population was confronted by profound attacks upon their culture in the form of Spanish institutions such as the Roman Catholic religion.
Nobles such as Quetzalmacatzin, King of Amaquemecan (Chalco), were forced to choose one wife and abandon the others, to comply with the current Christian institution of marriage, which meant monogamy.
Women no longer had men to do plowing, and were left to do all the agricultural tasks themselves, which included the planting and harvesting, as well as growing enough produce to meet the tribute demands of the encomiendas.
[38] Over several generations, many young women left the rural areas to work as domestic servants or as market vendors in the cities.
By the 17th century, Andean women were the majority of the market vendors in colonial cities such as La Paz (Bolivia), Cuzco (Peru), and Quito (Ecuador).
