Chapol (MH519r)
This simplex glyph for the personal name Chapol shows a grasshopper (chapolin) wearing a cape of turquoise blue and gold. The insect is shown in profile, facing toward the viewer's right. At least two bent legs are visible. The visible eye is open. Two antennae appears on the head.
Stephanie Wood
This is a personal name, preceded in the gloss by a Christian first name (Toribio). He may have been named after Toribio de Benavente, also known as Motolinia ("One Who is Poor or Afflicted"). This was the first word he learned in Nahuatl, and he went on to learn the language well. He lived in the monastery in Huejotzingo. Doing a quick search for the name "Toribio" will produce an impressive result.
Like so many human names, the absolutive ending for chapolin has dropped away (here, "in"). But the concept of grasshopper is conveyed, nevertheless. Why this grasshopper wears a cape has yet to be determined, but elite men wore capes, so perhaps it adds prestige or preciosity. See the image for Petlacalcatl below.
Stephanie Wood
toro chapol
Toribio Chapol
Stephanie Wood
1560
José Aguayo-Barragán
chapulines, grasshoppers, capes, capas, mantas
chapol(in), grasshopper, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chapolin
El Chapulín
Stephanie Wood
Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 519r, World Digital Library. https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=117&st=image
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).
