A temezcal is a Nahuat word that translates to bath house. They were very prominent throughout southern and central Mexico in many towns, no matter the size of the town. For the Mejica, cleanliness was an expectation that would later lead to conflict with the dirtier, more “Christian” Spanish later on. Houses around this time period where made out of adobe with wattle, or woven branches, held together with solidified mud. Behind these adobe houses …show more content…
Much like La Isla de Mujeres, Tepeyac kept men away through means of grossing them out with umbilical cords tied to trees, and menstrual blood spilled throughout. By keeping Tepeyac free of men, women could come to worship statues of Mayan Goddesses, learn about herbal methods to birth control, and recieve help on pregnancy matters. Enslavement under the grinding of centli created a need for women to come together in places like Tepeyac where they passed on knowledge about Dioscorea floribunda, the herb used for birth control, and other plants that undermined the health of those that oppressed them. Women are providers of food, and givers of life, making them necessary for survival especially for the Mejica who relied on women for 80% of agriculture. Tepeyac provided sanctuary for the Mejica women, making it an important aspect of their …show more content…
First, Cosmic Mother religion focuses on a woman from whom all life was birthed. The Great Cosmic Mother was thought by the Mayans to be apparent in the Milky Way Galaxy. That is to say that parts of the Milky Way Galaxy represented her body parts, where the central bulge in the galaxy was, was the Cosmic Mother’s womb, and where there was a dark rift, there was “the birthing place.” For Cosmic Mother religion to be the alternative to a religion where a man is portrayed to set all life in motion is a direct representation of the importance of women in Mejica society. If men truly wanted all the credit, the Cosmic Mother would not have been portrayed as the one responsible for all life. Another religious female figure is Coatlicue, or The Earth Mother. She is the Lady of the Serpent Skirt and mother of the Aztec, Sun, Moon, and stars. She is similar to