Ecatilma (MH860r)

Ecatilma (MH860r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Ecatilma ("Wind Cape" of "Cape of Ehecatl," attested here as a man's name) shows a square cape (tilmatli) with the profile of an anthropomorphic head facing right. The head has short spiky hair and a large beak-like mouth, apparently the device through which Ehecatl, the divine force of wind, blew the wind.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Gabrielle Vail and ‎Christine Hernández (Re-Creating Primordial Time, 2013, ) describe Ehecatl as the wind aspect of Quetzalcoatl, and they note that Ehecatl "wears a buccal (duck) mask through which to blow wind." That the "beak" may have been perceived as a blowing device is supported by the glyph for Pitztli (below).

Gordon Whittaker has recommended preserving the spelling of Eca-, even when the intention may well be Eheca-. The Eca- spelling is pervasive. The dictionary differentiates between ecatl (air, breath) and ehecatl (wind). The reduplication of the first syllable seems to suggest there is more volume to the air and/or it has greater movement. The "cape" in this glyph is just a white square, but we know from the gloss what is meant.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

encatilmā

Gloss Normalization: 

Ecatilma

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: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Religion (Indigenous)
Social Hierarchy, Commoners, Elites
Textiles, Clothing, Hats, Regalia
Weather, Climate
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

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

viento, máscara, mascarilla, boca, aire, aliento, ropa, capa, nombres de hombres

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

eca(tl), air/breath, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ecatl
eheca(tl)/Ehecatl, wind, or the spirit of the wind, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ehecatl
tilma(tli), cloak or cape worn by the elite, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tilmatli

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 860r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=792&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).

Orthography: 
intrusive "n"
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Ecatl (MH484r)

Ecatl (MH484v)

Tilma (MH649r)

Pitztli (MH874v)