Thanks for this interesting answer. Yes it goes without saying that when we look at another culture, be it way back in historic times or just at the other side of our planet, we have to take into consideration that we do it with our own cultural spectacles on. Probably there is nothing more difficult than taking them off, or even peer above the rim! Reading about Aztek religion as I have started to do recently, I get reminded of it every second line *g*

Acol you said: "without embarking on a digression about the status of Aztec women here", - why don´t we do just that? :) I´m very interested in life of the Aztec woman - am I the only one here?

Then: " not so much why the Snake Woman was not represented by a woman, but why this role had a female title" - yes indeed. Could it be that we find something of interest if we look at the Aztek way of regarding the feminine? Or is it that the idealistic, simplistic division in female/internal and male/external became muddled when acted out on the political arena?

Xolotl dear, would you rather this discussion is posted elsewhere as the thread is meant to be a history directory?