Cocoatl (MH663r)

Cocoatl (MH663r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Cocoatl (perhaps “Burning Water” or “Fire Water”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows an upright chile pepper (to evoke something that burns the mouth, cococ), a semi-homophonic phonetic indicator. Peeking out from the left side of the chile pepper is a human face, perhaps to evoke the impact of the pepper on people’s mouths–? The -atl (water, or liquid) part of the name is not represented visually.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

There is a name Tecocoatl, which could almost suit this glyph, given the presence of the person peeking from behind the chile pepper, perhaps evoking the Te- impersonal human object at the start of Tecocoatl. This name refers to someone who causes others pain.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
homophony, rebus
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Emotions
Food, Eating, Cooking
Gender (male)
Health, Medicine
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Water
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
profile view
facing left
Keywords: 

agua, picante, chiles, nombres de hombres

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

cococ, something that burns the mouth, like hot peppers, or, misery, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cococ
a(tl), water, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/atl
cocoa, to be in pain or cause someone pain, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cocoa

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

posiblemente, Aguardiente

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 663r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=406&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: 

Tecocohuatl (MH519v)

Cococ (MH498v)

Coco (Verg8v)