Apancalecan (Mdz13r)

The phonetics of a + calli point to the acalli, boat. Which may lead to the reading, "Place of the Possessors of Boats." The -e- [really -eh-, with a glottal stop} after "-cal-" supports that possession, athough possession is not shown in any way visually, it is supported by the orthography in the gloss.

Berdan and Anawalt took the approach that this place name referred to people who had houses on canals (apantli), which would have been common in the capital city on the lake, criss-crossed by canals. While the apantli would many times have some containment—a bottom and sides in a cross-section view–this is not 100% the case, as shown by our attestations below, to the right. There, you will see many times where the atl sign stands for apantli, and one apantli sign that was used for atl.

The reading of possessors of houses on canals is supported by references to the use of the term apancalli in Nicaragua, which Alfonso Valle's study of place names suggests were "casas de los apantes," and apantes were "caños de agua." But the latter could refer to gutters or drains, and not just canals.

Another reading is Frances Karttunen's translation of this place name as "Place Where People Have House Boats." In this case apancalli would be a house boat.