alcalde (Osu9v)

alcalde (Osu9v)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This iconographic example of a Nahua town council member called an alcalde (a loanword from Spanish) comes from the Codex Osuna, folio 9 verso (or image 21). It shows a man standing in a three-quarter view, facing toward the viewer’s left. He has the standard man’s haircut. He wears a white (probably cotton) cape with a red border. It is tied in a knot on his left shoulder. Under the cape he has white trousers and a white long-sleeved shirt. In his right hand he holds a staff of office that is taller than he is. Drawing from the Nahuatl text, the viceroy had apparently given him this staff in recognition of the Indigenous town council in Mexico City.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Glyphs for the word alcalde have yet to enter this collection (as of June 2024). But there is a glyph for the name of an alcalde (see below). Alcaldes were members of the town councils (cabildos) that the colonizers introduced into Indigenous communities. Indigenous towns had a degree of local self-governance by having their own cabildos.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Source Manuscript: 
Osuna, Codex (Osu)
Date of Manuscript: 

1551–1565

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Hair (human or animal)
Occupations
Politics, Power, Governance
Textiles, Clothing, Hats, Regalia
Wood, wooden things
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
brown
red
tan
white/neutral
Shapes and Perspectives: 
facing left
profile view
tied, bound, or bundled
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

alcaldes, oficiales, títulos, cabildos de indígenas, jueces, juez, oficios

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

alcalde, a town council officer, a magistrate, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/alcalde

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

el alcalde

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Library of Congress Online Catalog and the World Digital Library, Osuna Codex, or Painting of the Governor, Mayors, and Rulers of Mexico (Pintura del Gobernador, Alcaldes y Regidores de México), https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_07324/. The original is located in the Biblioteca Nacional de España.

Image Source, Rights: 

"The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse." But please cite the Biblioteca Nacional de España and this Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs if you use any of these images here or refer to the content on this page, providing the URL.

Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Tequixquinahuacatl (Mdz68r)