Chalchiuhtepehua (MH764r)

Chalchiuhtepehua (MH764r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Chalchiuhtepehua (perhaps, “Possessor of Jade Mountain”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a hill or mountain (tepetl) of the variety seen in some representations, with what looks to be something like a cave that is the shape of a womb. [See, for example, the first destination after leaving Aztlan in the Codex Boturini.] The cave has shading that gives it a depth. Below and partially obscuring the base of the hill and cave is a single, oval-shaped, large jade or greenstone (chalchihuitl) bead on a twisted cord.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Aside from literal translations, which can be unreliable, it is important to know that Chalchiuhtepehua was the name or title of a priest involved in human sacrifice after battles. If the -hua is not a possessive, and the verb tepehua (to throw down or defeat) is intended, then the translation might be "jade conquers." Thus, this compound could be fully or partially phonetic.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Syntax: 
Writing Features: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
Keywords: 

jade, piedras verdes, cuentas, cuerdas, cordones, cerros, montañas, cuevas, nombres de hombres

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

Chalchiuhtepehua, a minister involved in human sacrifice, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chalchiuhtepehua
chalchihui(tl), jade, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chalchihuitl
tepe(tl), hill or mountain, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tepetl
-hua (singular possessive suffix), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/hua

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

posiblemente, Tiene la Montaña de Jade

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 764r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=606&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).

Historical Contextualizing Image: