itzcuintli (Mdz8r)

itzcuintli (Mdz8r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This simplex Nahuatl hieroglyph for a dog (itzquintli) also represents the place name, Izcuincuitlapilco. It is only half a dog, the lower half. It is shown in profile, sitting, facing toward the viewer's left, with a long tail on the right. It is largely white, but with some black spots.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Descripción del glifo o de la imagen iconográfica:

Este jeroglífico simple náhuatl para la palabra “perro” (itzcuintli) también representa el topónimo Itzcuincuitlapilco. Se aprecia únicamente la mitad inferior del cuerpo del can, sentado y de perfil, apuntando hacia la izquierda del espectador y con el rabo largo hacia la dirección contraria. Su pelaje es blanco con algunas manchas negras.

Traducción de la descripción, crédito:

Ricardo A. Iriarte Valdés

Added Analysis:

Itzcuintli is a day sign in the 260-day religious divinatory calendar called the tonalpohualli, so it also appears in many personal name glyphs. Here, the focus on the dog's rear end has more to do with the place name, which mentions excrement, than anything about the basic nature of an itzquintli or its place in the calendar.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Análisis adicional:

El itzcuintli era un signo de día en el tonalpohualli, el calendario religioso-adivinatorio de 260 días, por lo que aparece frecuentemente como parte de glifos de nombres propios. En el presente ejemplo, la atención a la parte trasera del perro se relaciona sobre todo con el topónimo (el cual menciona el excremento), en vez de con la naturaleza fundamental de un itzcuintli o con su posición en el calendario.

Traducción del análisis, crédito:

Ricardo A. Iriarte Valdés

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)

Date of Manuscript:

c. 1541, but by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Semantic Categories:

calendrics

day name

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

simplex or element as logogram

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Animals: Dogs

Time, Calendar, Frequency

Cultural Content, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

facing left

profile view

spotted or mottled

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

itzcuin(tli), dog, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/itzcuintli

Additional Scholars' Interpretations:

dog

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Codex Mendoza, folio 8 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 25, of 188.

Image Source, Rights:

The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).