Cihuateteo

ancestor intermediate Aztec single tradition · 4

Ghosts from Aztec tradition. They are the spirits of women who died in childbirth.

↻ synthesized from 4 sources

When

First attested
1300 CE
Attested period
1300 – 1521
Historical notes
Aztec spirits of women who died in childbirth.

Relationships

allied with
Tzitzimitl, Tzitzimimeh

Expand to full subgraph →

Sources

Source passages

“Cihuateteo (Aztec) – Ghost of women that died in childbirth”

#4226 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5

“Cihuateteo can be characterized as "fearsome figures with clenched, claw-like fists, macabre, bared teeth and gums and aggressive poses." Sitting with their clawed feet tucked beneath their skirts, they seem at once in repose and ready to attack.”

#6024 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5

“Their spirits, the Cihuateteo, were depicted with skeletal faces like Cihuacōātl. Like her, the Cihuateteo were thought to haunt crossroads at night to steal children.”

#15012 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5

“Cihuateteo Cihuacoatl Tzitzimime”

#15043 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001