Acamapichtli (Mdz2v)

Acamapichtli (Mdz2v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This compound glyph for the personal name Acamapichtli shows a vertical forearm with a fist (mapichtli) that is clutching two reed arrows (acatl). The arrows are red and yellow with gray and white feathers attached. The arm and (left) hand (maitl) are flesh toned, more tan than the usual terracotta color.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The "ma" of Acamapichtli not only comes from the fist, but from the hand. It could also be read as "ma" for take, capture. The reeds are largely yellow, but with red ends and decorations of dark gray or brown eagle feathers and white down feathers, which is the version of acatl that coincides with the arrow (mitl), but the phonetics of mitl do not enter into the name.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

acamapich

Gloss Normalization: 

Acamapich, or Acamapichtli

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Syntax: 
adjective
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
compound fully logographic
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Feathers
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Plants, Flora
Weapons, Shields, Armor
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
brown
gray
red
tan
white/neutral
yellow or golden
Shapes and Perspectives: 
horizontal
vertical, upright
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Other / Comments
Number of Parts, Other / Comment: 

The word mapichtli, fist, also contains ma(itl), hand/arm, but the visual only appears once.

Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
inherent/internal/merged
Reading Order, Notes: 

The arrows are merged with the hand. As second interpretation could be that the reed-arrows (acatl) are grabbed by the hand, making the reading outward.

Keywords: 

rulers' names, Tenochtitlan, reeds, cañas, carrizos, plants, arrows, darts, flechas, dardas, nombres de personas famosas, nombres de hombres, nombres de gobernantes

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

Acamapich(tli), first ruler of Tenochtitlan, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/acamapichtli
aca(tl), reed(s) or arrow(s), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/acatl
ma(itl), hand or arm, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/maitl
mapich(tli), fist, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mapichtli
ma, take or capture, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ma-0
mi(tl), arrow, dart, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mitl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Agarra Flechas?

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 2 verso, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 15 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).

Historical Contextualizing Image: