Imacehual (MH518r)
This simplex glyph for the personal name Imacehual ("His Merits," attested here as a man's name) shows the man in question with a headdress of green feathers (probably quetzalli, though this does not enter into the decipherment of the name) attached to a red, t-shaped device that connects to the back of his head. The red is slightly pink or purple. The man's face is painted a flesh tone.
Stephanie Wood
The colors for this glyph are unusual for the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, which presents most glyphs in black and white. The headdress (perhaps a tzoncalli) might be considered in two ways for reaching an understanding of the name Imacehual. It may have been a gift as a result of some merit on his part, something he deserved (-macehual), and possessed in the third person singular (i-), resulting in "His Merit." The other option would be that this headdress was related to his role in a dance (macehualiztli). Perhaps both were true. A final consideration is that this man was someone's vassal (macehualli), but it seems less likely.
The possessive pronoun in the third person singular (i-) is not represented visually unless the fact that the headdress is connected to the head of the person named underlines that it is *his*. If that is the case, then this could be seen as a compound glyph, not just a simplex.
See below for other headdresses, typically shown in representations of deities or divine forces, such as Xolotl or Tlaloc, or warrior regalia.
Stephanie Wood
peo ymaçeual
Pedro Imacehual
Stephanie Wood
1560
Jeff Haskett-Wood
headdresses, tocados, merecimiento, merecer, vasallo, bailar
![](https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Imacehual_MH518r_SmplxPersName.png?itok=_NdLVr0D)
-macehual, when possessed, a worthy person, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/macehual
i-, his/her possessive prefix, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/i
macehua, to dance, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/macehua
macehualiz(tli), a dance or dancing, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/macehualiztli
macehual(li), vassal, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/macehualli
Su Mérito
Stephanie Wood
Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 518r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=115&st=image
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).
![](https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/sites/default/files/Imacehual_MH518r_Context.png)