Chichtli (MH770v)

Chichtli (MH770v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Chichtli ("Owl") is attested here as a man's name. The glyph provides a frontal view of the owl's face, rarely provided for other birds, which are typically shown in profile. The owl's eyes have short, radiant lines around them, making them vibrant.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The attention to the eyes may related to the fact that owls can see well at night. But the frontal view and the radiant lines also seem to tie in with a perception of the bird as sacred and powerful. See the two examples of the glyphs for the name Chicua, below, and the lines around the eyes of the name Cuauhtecolotl. (The Chicua glyphs, incidentally, are not shown in a frontal view the ways the tecolotl owl is, which may be an important difference.)

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

po chichtli

Gloss Normalization: 

Pedro Chichtli

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: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
circle(s) (small, often concentric)
frontal view
shimmer, vibrance, shine with warmth & movement
Keywords: 

lechuzas, owls, ojos grandes, ojos vibrantes, nombres de hombres

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

chich(tli), an owl, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chichtli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Lechuza

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 770v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=615&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: 
See Also: 

tecolotl (Mdz20r)

Cuauhtecolotl (MH525v)

Tecolotl (Verg7v)

Cuauhtecolotl (MH491v)

Tlacatecolotl (MH641r)

Chicua (MH568v)

Chicua (MH624r)