Centeotl (MH834v)

Centeotl (MH834v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This simplex glyph for the personal name Centeotl ("Divine Force of Ears of Maize," attested here as pertaining to a man) shows two cobs of corn on one short stem. The ears are nearly horizontal. Their husks are peeled back to expose the kernels, making it clear what they are. Each cob also has silk at the top. The silk of the lower ear is painted red.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

That this name of a divine force associated with maize is still in use in 1560 is notable as an example of pre-contact religious survival. Other translations for Centeotl can be found, seemingly relating to the translation of "cen" as entire, or as one, or only.

The letter e and the letter i can be interchangeable in certain words such as cintli and centli, referring to an ear of maize.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

juā çeteotl

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Centeotl

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
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Corn, Maize
Food, Eating, Cooking
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Plants, Flora
Religion (Indigenous)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black
red
white/neutral
Shapes and Perspectives: 
facing right
horizontal
profile view
segmented
Keywords: 

divine forces, fuerzas divinas, deidades, deities, divinities, divinidades, maize, maíz, cintli, centli, nombres de hombres

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

Cinteo(tl), a name, associated with the Ear-of-Maize divine force or deity, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cinteotl
cin(tli), dried ear of maize, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cintli
teo(tl), divine force(s), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/teotl
cen, entirely, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cen
cen-, one, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cen-0

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 834v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=743&st=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: 
dropped "n"
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Centeotl (TR8r)

Centeotl (TR14r)

cintli (Mdz34r)

Cencual (MH535v)