Casa de Mexico

Fundación Casa de México en España

La mitad del mundo. La mujer en el México indígena.

English texts
Audios en español

The Mexican government declared 2025 as the Year of Indigenous Women, recognizing the presence and contributions of the native peoples who, for more than thirty centuries, have inhabited this territory and shaped the nation, of which indigenous women are the foundation, support and structure. They are guardians of memory, languages, traditions and ancestral knowledge, which they have preserved, reinterpreted and adapted to modern times. They are the fertile ground where the divine becomes real and perceptible.

In this framework, the Mexican government, through the Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), in collaboration with the Casa de México in Spain, presents this exhibition on indigenous women, focusing on a fundamental aspect for understanding their customs and cultural practices: the feminine principle in the indigenous vision of the universe.

Far from being a Manichean or reductionist conception, the approach of this exhibition is based on the principle of complementary and interdependent opposites, which is the common foundation on which different ancestral peoples built their own understanding of the world.

Welcome.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY OF MEXICO

Mexico is a country of vast cultural diversity. In addition to the mestizo population, its territory is home to Afro-descendant communities and 74 different indigenous peoples who are heirs to ancient traditions and who have succeeded in adapting to modern times without losing the essence of their ancestral thinking. This richness is evident in their customs, cuisine, art, relationship with nature, and religious outlook.

In addition to Spanish, 68 indigenous languages are recognized as national languages, many of them with regional variants, which are active vehicles of collective memory, identity, and thought.

Indigenous women play a fundamental role in this context: through their participation in community life, and their work as bearers of language, ancestral knowledge, and collective values, they sustain cultural continuity and strengthen the resilience of their peoples in the face of the challenges of today.

INTRODUCTION

A common element in the thinking of Mexico’s diverse indigenous peoples, which has been carried down from pre-Hispanic times to the present day, is the conception of the world as the result of the dynamic balance of complementary and interdependent opposites, which they associated with feminine and masculine aspects.

In this exhibition, times and cultures intertwine to account for the feminine aspect in this vision of the indigenous universe from a gender perspective, not as a merely biological element, but as ideology, relationships, and a source of deep cultural meanings. To this end, it presents three main themes:

  • “The two parts of the world,” which addresses the concept of duality in the indigenous worldview.
  • “The display of the body,” which focuses on symbolic interpretations of female anatomy.
  • “Female sacredness,” which presents predominantly female deities from various cultures, both pre-Hispanic and contemporary.

CC1 Señora de la falda de estrellas – 600 cce

Señora de la falda de estrellas – 600 cce

1. THE TWO PARTS OF THE WORLD

Rain and drought, east and west, life and death, masculine and feminine… these are some of the opposing, complementary, and inseparable pairs that, in ancestral thinking, are the essence of all that exists. Every being—divine, human, or natural—is a mixture of opposing elements, and the predominance of one of them determines its classification.

This concept has permeated the thinking of today’s indigenous societies, which continue to see the world as a place made up of dualities. Thus, for example, for the Coras of the Nayarit highlands, women come from the west and men from the east; for the Nahuas from the south of the Valley of Mexico, the creation of the Devil was a response that balanced the existence of God.

Duality explains the origin of the universe and structures social life, symbolic thought, and the relationship with the sacred. It is a living principle that continues to give meaning to the world.

CC2 Dos lagarto – 600 cce

Dos lagarto – 600 cce

THE DYNAMIC OF THE UNIVERSE

In indigenous thought, life is understood as a cycle and the world as a place made up of intrinsically linked dualities. Everything arises, transforms, dies, and is renewed through a sequence of acts of creation and destruction, described as metaphors associated with the feminine and the masculine and based on the observation of natural processes and their active and continuous interrelation.

Time and space obey a rhythm of phases that open and close, in an order where nothing is static. The feminine, associated with both birth and death, gives way to life; the masculine, linked to movement and vital force, anticipates the end. These complementary forces do not compete, but alternate in a dynamic that promotes the balance of the universe and its perpetual renewal.

CC2.1-2 Intrinsic connection – 400 cce

Vida y muerte Vinculo Intrinseco

CC2.3-1 bicephalic figurines- 600 cce

DUALITY

These figurines were produced by different cultures at different times and with different artistic styles; however, they have one thing in common: they are female representations with double heads or faces that seem to suggest movement and probably symbolize the indigenous conception of the universe and everything in it as the result of the cyclical dynamics of opposing, complementary, and indivisible forces.

Figurilla femenina bicéfala Figurilla femenina bicéfala Figurilla femenina bicéfala Figurilla femenina bicéfala Figurilla femenina bicéfala

CC2.1-8 Representation of the Sun god and the creation of men and women – 400 cce

Entorno de vida

CC2.1-9 Water offering – 600 cce

Ofrenda para el agua

CC2.1-11 Complementary opposites – 600 cce

Opuestos complementarios

THE FEMININE PART OF THE INDIGENOUS WORLD

The dual vision of the indigenous world arises from careful observation of natural cycles: earthly waters and their tides, influenced by the Moon, are related to the amniotic fluid that protects the fetus in the womb. According to some researchers, the Mesoamerican calendar count of 260 days is a feminine measure of time based on the nine lunar cycles that a pregnancy lasts.

These connections are examples of how the feminine is related to concepts such as humidity, cold, darkness, below, interior, receptivity, generation, night, and the underworld—and therefore to the number nine, which corresponds to its number of levels in pre-Hispanic cosmology—but also to private space (the home), the Earth, vegetation, fertility, and water, among others. This presence manifests itself in all aspects of the universe.

CO2.2-1 Sacred cave – 400 cce

Cueva sagrada

CO2.2-2 The origin of water– 400 cce

El origen del agua

CO2.2-3 Serpent – 400 cce

Fertilidad y renovación

CO2.2-4 Serpent huipil– 400 cce

Seres miticos

CO2.2-4 Serpent sash– 400 cce

Esencia mutante

CC2.3-7y8 Water lily - 600 cce

WATER FLOWER

The water lily (Nymphaea ampla) is a flower that grows in freshwater bodies such as lakes, ponds, and lagoons. Its aquatic nature links it to the feminine, the underworld, and death, but also to the generation of life: it provides a favorable environment for the survival of other aquatic species and filters and purifies the water that feeds the earth. Its psychoactive properties were used by Mayan rulers and shamans in rites of transfiguration, death, and resurrection, and it is frequently depicted on the headdresses of Classic period rulers (250-900 AD) as a symbol of lineage.

Olla miniatura decorada como ninfea Plato decorado con el ciclo de vida de una ninfea

CC2.3-9y10 Shells and snails - 600 cce

AQUATIC BEINGS

Shells and snails are linked to the aquatic and subterranean worlds—feminine aspects of the universe—both in the concept of origin and birth, and in that of death and rebirth, and are associated with the primordial sea of creation. For the Maya, the shell symbolized childbirth: just as a mollusk emerges from it, children emerge from the womb. When they turned three years old, Maya girls had a string tied around their waists with a shell hanging from it that covered their pubic area, and it was removed at around 12 years of age, with the onset of menarche.

Vasija en forma de caracol Remate arquitectónico en forma de concha

CO2.2-3 Quincunx – 400 cce

Mapa del universo

CO2.2-4 Ceremonial huipil – 400 cce

Axis Mundi

CO2.2-5 Vessel with vulture – 400 cce

Muerte y divinidad

CO2.2-6 Sculpture of coati – 400 cce

La abuela del alba

CO2.2-7 Host figure – 400 cce

Entidades anímicas

F2 BODILY DISPLAY

In indigenous belief, human beings have two substances: one weighty, opaque, and tangible—the body—related to the mundane and perishable, and the other light, invisible, and intangible, linked to the divine and therefore indestructible.

The body is the abode of this intangible aspect, which consists of animistic and dynamic entities that the Nahuas identify as tonalli, in the head, associated with the Sun, an active and masculine force; ihíyotl, in the abdominal region, linked to the Moon, moisture, and fertility, a feminine energy; and yóllotl, in the heart, the emotional center that integrates feminine and masculine aspects. For the Maya, these entities are o’hlis or o’hlal, heart, center, or spirit; sak b’ook(?), aroma, perfume; sak iik’aal, air or wind; b’aahis or b’aahal, soul, body heat; and wahyis or wahyal, co-essence, companion spirit. The balance between these forces ensures health and order.

CO3 Venus of Tamtoc– 600 cce

Venus of Tamtoc– 600 cce

F3 Wall text

I am the woman who looks inwards.
I am the woman who looks under the water.
I am the sacred swimmer
because I can swim in greatness.
I am the Moon woman.
María Sabina

CG3 The Priestess – 400 cce

La sacerdotisa

CO3a The universe in the body – 400 cce

El universo en el cuerpo

FLOWERING BODIES

Pre-Hispanic art represented the body in a way that revealed its own conception of humanity and its paradigms of beauty, not as a mere aesthetic value, but in its broadest sense: the sublime beauty in which virtue and the divine, the forces of nature, the structure of the world, and cyclical time all converge.

The female anatomy was depicted with symbolic attributes linked to fertility, nutrition, and regeneration, highlighting its character as a space of origin, transformation, death, and cyclical continuity. As a dynamic entity, the female body becomes a metaphor for the Earth as mother and womb, as well as for caves, mountains, and grottos, sacred places where one is born, dies, and comes into contact with the divine.

CC3.1-1 a 11 Female sculptures- 600 cce

SACRED METAPHOR

Early pre-Hispanic art was dominated by nude female figurines, ranging from young women with budding breasts and wide hips alluding to their fertility, to pregnant women, symbols of fecundity. It is believed that they were part of agricultural rituals; however, they have been found in various contexts, suggesting that they had different functions: their abundant presence in domestic spaces suggests their use in female rites associated with fertility, childbirth, and the protection of infants; in funeral offerings, they probably served to accompany and protect the deceased.

Escultura de torso femenino Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina Figurilla femenina

CO13 Mother Earth – 400 cce

Madre tierra

CC3.1-14 Breast-shaped vessels- 600 cce

SOURCE OF LIFE

These types of vessels, decorated with shapes reminiscent of female breasts, were made by different ancient cultures that inhabited what is now Mexico, from as early as the Preclassic period (1400-900 BC) to the Postclassic period (1200-1521 AD). They reveal how these agricultural societies transferred their vision of the universe to the human body. In them, the female anatomy symbolizes the fertility of the earth and its ability to nourish all beings. The presence of these vessels in offerings and ritual contexts reinforces their sacred nature.

Vasija con decoración mamiforme Vasija con soportes mamiformes

THE BODY AS A CANVAS

Since pre-Hispanic times, physical appearance and adornments have been seen as embodying a person’s social status and identifying their place in the world, making them part of the eternal ebb and flow of earthly and supernatural forces.

Like a canvas, a vast range of meanings has been expressed on the body through temporary interventions—such as face and body painting—and permanent ones—such as head shaping, tooth decoration, piercing, tattooing, and scarification—some of which have survived to the present day.

Beyond simply pursuing paradigms of beauty, these arrangements have sometimes been intended to become like their deities and other times to honor them, but above all, to reflect the identity of the individual.

CO3.2 Lady of Tempoal– 400 cce

Señora Tempoal

CC3.2.1 Body painting - 600 cce

THE COLORFUL BODY

Body painting was a form of expression widely used by both women and men, with strong symbolic roots. In rituals, colors and patterns were associated with deities, and those who used them temporarily embodied a supernatural being. In Nahua codices, most women and goddesses have their skin painted yellow, a color associated with fertility. In everyday life, noble women painted themselves with this color and, although with lower quality pigments, so did the ahuainimes (prostitutes), who also painted their teeth red to look more attractive.

Figurilla femenina con pintura corporal Figurilla femenina con pintura corporal Figurilla femenina con pintura corporal Figurilla femenina con pintura corporal

Messages on the skin

MESSAGES ON THE SKIN

In addition to its aesthetic functions, body paint made from mineral, plant, or animal pigments apparently had antiseptic properties and served as protection against mosquitoes, heat, and the sun. It seems that some decorative motifs were imprinted onto the skin using ceramic stamps and that, in addition to decorating the body, they served to indicate the person’s membership of a particular group. The abundance of these objects and the variety of contexts in which they have been found indicate that their use was common throughout the population.

Sello con representación de una mariposa Sello con grecas Sello con grecas Sello con grecas Sello con representación de una tortuga Sello con representación de un mono Sello con representación de un caracol Sello cilíndrico con flores Sello cilíndrico con figuras geométricas

CO3.2 Face painting – 400 cce

Trazos sagrados

CO3.2 Tattooed vessel – 400 cce

Tattooed vessel

F3 Wall text

Remove your garments, loosen your hair;
stay as you arrived here to this world,
virgins, beautiful women
Kay nicté. Song of the Flower

3. THE SACRED FEMALE

The feminine realm of the universe is linked to fertility, the flow of life, the Earth, and moisture, but also to darkness, destruction, and death. For this reason, the underworld was considered a feminine space where gods and goddesses coexisted, whose powers placed them in that realm.

Female deities embody active forces that range from the sublime to the terrible: creators and destroyers, lunar and tectonic, linked to sexuality and purification, childbirth and death. They do not represent an essential femininity, but rather symbolic functions that sustain the balance of the universe, and may have mixed attributes or change gender depending on the ritual or symbolic context.

From ritual art to mythical narrative, these entities express the complexity of a cyclical and dual order. They are powerful and ambivalent, capable of generating life, maintaining balance, or unleashing chaos.

C04.1-1– Tlazoltéotl 600 cce

Tlazoltéotl

C04.1-2– 4 Mother goddess 400 cce

Mother goddess

C04.1-4– Nohuichana 400 cce

Nohuichana

CC4.2-5 13 serpent - 600 cce

NURSE MOTHER

Mother goddess linked to the earth and plant fertility, from whose womb seeds germinate, creating the food that sustains life. She wears a crown of intertwined snakes, made of sticks and plant fibers, alluding to the myth that the Earth is covered by a weave of countless snakes. The snake is present in all mother goddesses as an attribute of sovereignty and continuous regeneration due to its shedding of skin; it is linked to the Moon, the feminine, and fertility, and manifests itself in the three planes of the universe: celestial, terrestrial, and aquatic.

C04.1- Xipe Tlozalteotl – 400 cce

Xipe Tlozalteotl

C04.1-4– Moon deity 400 cce

Moon deity

C04.1-8 Ixchel 600 cce

Ixchel

C04.1-9 Coyolxauhqui 400 cce

Coyolxauhqui

C04.1-11 Chalchitlicue 400 cce

Chalchitlicue

C04.1-12 Xilonen 400 cce

Xilonen

C04.1-12 Mayahuel 400 cce

Mayahuel

SACRED FORCES

For indigenous peoples, the deities are not vestiges of the past, but living presences that inhabit rituals, dreams, and everyday knowledge. Mother Earth, Grandmother Moon, goddesses of water, caves, and mountains… Female deities embody forces of life and death, fertility and transformation. They do not represent a passive or idealized femininity, but rather powers that create, destroy, protect, and renew.

Through midwifery, traditional medicine, and the cultivation of corn, many women establish a connection with these entities as a way of exercising power and preserving the balance of the universe. Far from being superstition, this spirituality is ancestral knowledge, practice, and cultural resistance that sustains community life and affirms other ways of inhabiting the world.

C04.2-1 The goddess of the Earth – 400 cce

The goddess of the Earth

C04.2-2 Petenera – 400 cce

Petenera

C04.2-3 Maija Awi – 400 cce

Maija Awi

C04.2-4 Talking cross – 400 cce

Talking cross

CC1 Mothers, messengers of rain (votive tablet—goddess of water) – 400 cce

Mothers, messengers of rain

C04 (votive tablet—goddess of corn) – 400 cce

Mothers, messengers of rain

CC04 iika tablet – 400 cce

iika tablet

CC04 Votive tablet – 400 cce

Votive tablet

MOTHERS AND GODDESSES

After the Conquest, many female deities of the indigenous world were reinterpreted as advocations of the Christian Virgin Mary, to whom they assigned the attributes of fertility, protection and power over life and death, and embraced her as the mother of all gods and humanity, and her new children turned her into a goddess.

This was not an imposed substitution or a rupture, but rather a continuity under new symbols and a strategy of cultural resistance. The virgins became new forms of the sacred feminine, protectors but also punishers, tender but powerful mothers who are divine, earthly, and communal. The memories of Tonantzin, Cihuacóatl, or Itzpapálotl survive in them: ambivalent powers that continue to inhabit the hills, the rituals, and community life.

F4.3 Wall text

Remove your garments, loosen your hair;
stay as you arrived here to this world,
virgins, beautiful women
Kay nicté. Song of the Flower

CC4.3-1 Coatlicue 600 cce

Coatlicue

CC4.3-1 Coatlicue-Sanjuanita 600 cce

COATLICUE-SANJUANITA

The miracles of the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos began to be spoken of after the discovery of her image in 1543, and with them was born the great devotion of the faithful who venerate her and seek her help. Today, “La Sanjuanita” is a protector of the sick, migrants, and all those seeking solace and hope. Her sanctuary receives mass pilgrimages that revive the rite of return, an echo of the search for Aztlán, a place of mythical origin and hope, and link the Virgin with Coatlicue, mother of the gods and goddess of the Earth, an expression of the principle of origin and return. Sanjuanita, like Coatlicue, awaits the return of her children.

CC4.3-10 Itzpapálotl and the Virgin of Pueblito 600 cce

Itzpapálotl and the Virgin of Pueblito

CC4.3-10 Virgin of Pueblito 600 cce

Virgin of Pueblito

CC4.3-12 Cihuacóatl 600 cce

Cihuacóatl

CC4.3-12 Tonantzin Guadalupe 600 cce

Tonantzin Guadalupe

F4.3-2 Wall text

…know for sure, my dearest and youngest son, that I am truly the ever perfect Holy Virgin Mary, who has the honor to be the Mother of the one true God […]. I want very much that they build my sacred little house here, in which I will show Him, I will manifest Him, I will give to all peoples my personal love, my compassionate gaze, my help, my salvation. Because truly I am your compassionate mother, yours and that of all the people that live together in this land…
Nican Mopohua

1. Bienvenidos

2. Diversidad cultural de México

3. Introducción

4. 01. Las dos partes del mundo

5. La dinámica del universo

6. La parte femenina del mundo indígena

7. 02. La ostentación del cuerpo

8. Cuerpos floridos

9. El cuerpo como lienzo

10. 03. La sacralidad femenina

11. Fuerzas sagradas

12. Madres y diosas

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