Editing Cihuateteo (section)

== Funerary practices ==
When an Aztec woman experienced [[Women in Aztec civilization #Labor|childbirth]], it was seen as a violent and laborious effort likened to the intensity of battle. It was believed that the child was sent down to the earth by the gods, and the woman had to fight and struggle in order to bring it into the world. The newborn child was seen as a sufficient reward if she was successful and emerged victorious from her “fight” with the gods, but if she lost and proved unsuccessful, then she died and her soul underwent transformation into a ''cihuateotl''.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Ancient America : contributions to New World archaeology|last=Shelton|first=Anthony Alan|publisher=Oxbow Books|others=Saunders, Nicholas J.|year=1992|isbn=978-0946897483|location=Oxford|pages=5|oclc=28327040}}</ref>

In the case of the death of the woman, special funerary practices were carried out, as the body of a woman who had died in childbirth was believed to possess special powers and magic following the departure of the soul from the body.<ref name=":3" /> In these special practices, the body was guarded fiercely by an armed entourage that included the widowed husband, his friends, all the midwives, and old women. This was deemed necessary due to the need to protect the woman's human remains from male warriors. Parts of the body believed to be especially potent relics for warriors were the left middle finger and the hair. According to Aztec belief, “these relics had magical power and, if placed on their shields, would make the warriors brave and valiant, give them strength, and blind the eyes of their enemies.”<ref>{{Cite book|title=Soldaderas in the Mexican military: myth and history|last=Salas|first=Elizabeth|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=1990|isbn=978-0292776302|edition=1st|location=Austin|oclc=20723387}}</ref>