Cipac (MH595r)

Cipac (MH595r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Cipac (“Crocodile,” attested here as a man’s name) shows a profile view of a crocodile or an alligator facing toward the viewer's right. The animal is up on its legs as though moving forward. Its tail is up, and its back is covered with six triangular points. Its eye is open, and its body has some spots.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This name is a day sign. Originally, a name like this would have a number attached to it. But calendrical names were evolving at the time of this manuscript (1560), often dropping their numbers. This day sign comes from the tonalpohualli, the 260-day divinatory calendar. Calendrics figure importantly in Nahuas' religious views of the cosmos. The thirteen-day cycle that was started by One-Cipactli was an auspicious time to be born according to a downloadable publication hosted by Mexicolore.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

frano cipac

Gloss Normalization: 

Francisco Cipac

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

El Cocodrilo

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
day name
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Movement
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Religion (Indigenous)
Time, Calendar, Frequency
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
dotted, granular, textured
facing right
profile view
spiky
spotted or mottled
Keywords: 

crocodiles, cocodrilos, calendarios, signos de días, calendars, nombres de hombres, tributarios

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

cipac(tli), crocodile, caiman, alligator, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cipactli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Cocodrilo

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 595r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=269&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: 

Cipac (MH603v)

Cipac (MH632v)

Cipac (MH881r)

Cipac (MH778r)

Cipac (MH769v)

Cipac (MH737r)