Ateuh (MH613v)

Ateuh (MH613v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Ateuh ("Like Water" or "Testicle") is attested here as a man's name. It shows a war shield in the form of a circle with a small circle in the center and four evenly-placed, half-round designs inside the perimeter. How the shield relates to something "like water," as the gloss might suggest, is a mystery. But if the Ateuh name refers to a "testicle," then perhaps there is a semantic relationship implied between being a valiant combatant and having testicles. More research is required for this glyph, but it appears that the shield is not a logogram.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This seems to be a war shield of the ihuiteteyo design, discussed by Frances Berdan and Patricia Anawalt (The Codex Mendoza, 1992, vol. 1, Appendix G). It can come in different colors. Sometimes the symbols on this design are taken for shells. An article by Ian Mursell in Mexicolore and citing the same authors, reminds us that they are down balls, which have associations with death. He also paraphrases John Pohl, saying that the war shield was very personal, it "represented the warrior’s soul, and would generally be burned at the funeral of a dead man." We also learn from The Codex Mendoza: New Insights (2022, 24), that "the tlacuiloque drew and painted a total of eleven ihuiteteyo, one for each one of the rulers of the city."

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

juā anteuh

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Ateuh

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as phonogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Feathers
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Sexuality, Fertility
Weapons, Shields, Armor
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
circle (half)
circle(s) (small, often concentric)
circle, circular or rounded
frontal view
quincunx or quatrefoil
Keywords: 

anatomía, testículos, testicles, escudos, combatientes, nombres de hombres

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

a(tl), water, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/atl
-teuh, in the manner of, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/teuh
ate(tl), a rock in water or a testicle, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/atetl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

A la Manera de Agua

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 613v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=309st=image.

Image Source, Rights: 

This manuscript is hosted by the Library of Congress and the World Digital Library; used here with the Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SAq 3.0).

Orthography: 
intrusive "n"
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Timal (MH516r)

Chalchiuh (MH541v)

tzauhqui (MH536v)

Yaotl (MH484v)

Yaoteuh (MH797r)

Chimalteuh (MH490v)

Chimalteuh (MH660v)