Ixcah (MH661v)

Ixcah (MH661v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Ixcah (“Watchful”?) is attested here as a man’s name. The compound includes a frontal view of a human eye (with European stylization). The word for eye is ixtli, which appears to play a significant part in the name. Below that is a shield (chimalli) with a white cross and four black quadrants, which also seems to have European stylistic influences. The shield may play simply a semantic role, perhaps suggesting a watchful role in warfare.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

For the European influence in the evolving way of drawing eyes, compare the starry eye below with the more realistic ones. See also how the Nahua shield design has shifted to the European over time. Thus, whether this compound glyph is fully logographic or not remains to be seen.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

peo. yxcah

Gloss Normalization: 

Pedro Ixcah

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
verb
Writing Features: 
compound fully logographic
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Food, Eating, Cooking
Gender (male)
Health, Medicine
Names (personal and/or theonym)
War or Conflict
Weapons, Shields, Armor
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
cross (+)
frontal view
quincunx or quatrefoil
Parts (of compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
downward
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

escudos, rodelas, ojos, nombres de hombres

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

ix(tli), eye, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ixtli
cah, to be, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cah
ixca, to bake or roast, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ixca
chimal(li), shield or a symbol for war, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chimalli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Vigilante (?)

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 661v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=403&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: 
"y" for i
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

ixtli (Mdz21v)

ixtli (MH485v)

ixtli (MH521v)

ixtli (MH541v)

Chimalpan (MH527r)

cuexyo (Mdz49r)

Yaotl (MH484v)