Imacehual (MH816v)

Imacehual (MH816v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This simplex glyph for the personal name Imacehual (perhaps short for imacehualli, "Feather Fan for Dancing" or else "His Commoner") is attested here as a man's name. It shows a horizontal, frontal view of a feather fan leaning to the right. It has two rows of feathers long ones and short ones, and a small handle. The feather fan, however, could also be a phonetic indicator for the semantic meaning of "his commoner."

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

Further suggestions are welcome. This is a deceptive noun. It appears to be the noun macehualli in a possessed form. That noun could have varioius readings, relating to a commoner, an Indigenous person, or someone with merit who is deserving. In fact, however, it might not be possessed at all, but serve as an apocopation for the unpossessed noun imacehualli, having something to do with dance. And the glyphs all seem to show hand-held feather fans.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text 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 (no-, to-, i-, etc.)

verb

Writing Features:

simplex or element as phonogram

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Feathers

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, feathers, abanico, tocado, bailes, bailar, bailador, vasallos, merecer, nombres de hombres, men's names, fonetismo

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: