Huetzquiz (MH666r)

The presence of such large canines calls to mind thorns (huitztli), which could play a role in the name. Perhaps also the verb quiza, to go out, refers to the showing of the teeth. Protruding fangs, such as those on the biting bat (below), were often colored red and white like thorns, possibly pointing to the role of sharp objects being used for bloodletting. See also the glyph for the Huetzquiz name on MH529r, which has a strange mouth much like the one on this face (but not the full face. Perhaps this is the face of a figure at fiestas who circulated in crowds to get people to laugh. Such possibly clown-like figures are known in Spanish festivals, but to know if this is an Indigenous source of humor requires further research. Certainly, there are many terms in Nahuatl for laughter, and there was a type of person, a texochtiani, who would tell jokes.