Maceuhqui (MH689r)

Maceuhqui (MH689r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Maceuhqui (“Dancer”) is attested here as a man’s name. It shows a feathered headdress attached to the head of the tribute payer. The feather device appears to include four quetzal feathers, bound at their base and then attached to the person’s hair. This must be a device that is recognized as one to be worn by a dancer.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The tlacuilo apparently started to draw a hand, which is still visible in the contextualizing image. Perhaps the feather device was originally going to be hand-held, and then the tlacuilo changed his mind. See below for glyphs where such a device appears on a person’s head or, alternatively, in a hand. The hand can serve as a phonetic indicator for the -ma- syllable in these various names.

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

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

simplex or element as logogram

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Anatomy, human body parts

Feathers

Gender (male)

Jewelry, Crowns, or other Adornment

Music, Song, Dance

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

facing right

profile view

tied, bound, or bundled

Keywords:

plumas, feathers, danzas, bailadores, bailes, tocados, manos, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

maceuhqui, dancer, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/maceuhqui
macehua, to merit, to be deserving, or to dance, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/macehua

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Bailador

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 689r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=458&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).

Historical Contextualizing Image: