Cenyacan (MH838v)

Cenyacan (MH838v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Cenyacan (“Commander”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a war shield, which usually stands for yaotl, in the sense here of “combatant.” Underneath the shield, and poking out slightly, is a turtle (ayotl), a near homophone, used as a phonetic complement for yaotl. Below that is a dried ear of maize (centli, also spelled cintli sometimes). The ear of corn is a phonetic indicator for the start of the name Cen-. The full name comes from the verb cenyacana, to command or govern, a compound of cen (entirely) and yacana (lead).

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The letter “n” has been dropped, apparently inadvertently, from both cen- and -yacan.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

dio çeyaca

Gloss Normalization: 

Diego Cenyaca

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: 
compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Plants, Flora
Social Hierarchy, Commoners, Elites
Socio-Political Units, Cities, Towns, Neighborhoods
War or Conflict
Weapons, Shields, Armor
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
frontal view
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
3
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
upward
front to back
Keywords: 

mandar, gobernar, liderar en la guerra, maíz, mazorcas, tortugas, chimalli, escudos, nombres de hombres

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

cenyacana, to lead, command, govern, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cenyacan

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Comandante

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 838v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=751&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: 
"çe" for ce
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Yaotl (MH622r)

cintli (Mdz34r)

cintli (Verg10r)

Tequicen (MH618r)