Imacehual (MH816v)

Imacehual (MH816v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Imacehual (perhaps “His/Her Merits,” “His/Her Worthy One,” or “His/Her Vassal”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows what seems to be a feather fan that could be used in a dance, perhaps recalling the word macehua, to dance, and serving as a phonetic indicator. This feather fan may consist of five long quetzal feathers in a horizontal presentation. Three shorter feathers appear just above the base, which involves a short horizontal bar and a handle, perhaps made of wood. The possessive pronoun at the start of this name is not shown visually.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

There are various possibilities for deciphering this glyph. What is shown may or may not relate to how we are to read it, if there is a phonetic indicator involved.

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: 
personal name
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
possessive pronoun
verb
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as phonogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Feathers
Gender (male)
Music, Song, Dance
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Technology (all types), plus Tools
Wood, wooden things
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
horizontal
Keywords: 

plumas, abanico, tocado, bailes, bailar, bailador, vasallos, merecer, nombres de hombres

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

-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

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Sus Méritos, Su Merecedor, o Su Vasallo

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 816v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=707&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: 
"v" for u, uh, or hu
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Imacehual (MH518r)