Among the Aztecs, the Cihuacalli was the name given to those controlled buildings where prostitution was permitted by political and religious authorities. "Cihuacalli" is a Nahuatl

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

 word which means "House of Women".

The Cihuacalli was a closed compound with rooms, all of which were looking to a central patio. At the center of the patio was a statue of Tlazolteotl

Tlazolteotl

In Aztec mythology, Tlazolteotl is a goddess of purification, steam bath, midwives, filth, and a patroness of adulterers. In Nahuatl, the word tlazolli can refer to vice and diseases. Thus, Tlazolteotl was a goddess of filth , vice, and sexual misdeeds...

, the goddess of "filth". Religious authorities believed women should work as prostitutes, if they wish, only at such premices guarded by Tlazolteotl. It was believed Tlazolteotl had the power to incite sexual activity, and at the same time do spiritual cleansing of such acts.

There are stories that also refer to certain places, either inside the Cihuacalli or outside, where women would perform erotic dance in front of men. The poet Tlaltecatzin

Tlaltecatzin

Tlaltecatzin, according to some sources, was a son of the Aztec tlatoani Moctezuma II. In the Noche Triste he was taken out of Tenochtitlán as a prisoner with other Aztec noble men, also prisoners, one of them was his brother Chimalpopoca...

 of Cuauhchinanco noted that special "Joyful Women" would perform erotic dances at certain homes outside of the compound.