Macuil (MH661r)

Macuil (MH661r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Macuil (“Five”) is attested here as a man’s name. It shows a frontal view of a human hand, a left hand. The style of this drawing seems to indicate European influence. The thenar muscles are not usually defined like this (the rise near the thumb on the palm of the hand, which this artist shows with a short curve).

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The name Macuil may represent a calendrical name that has lost its day sign. Whether this evolution in naming practices suggests a gradual forgetting of the divinatory calendar names, some self-censoring as ecclesiastical influence grew, or a response to the pressure exerted by the clergy, who were actively pressing for change, are processes that require further investigation. Another option is that the name Macuil had a meaning associated with lasciviousness. There were five divine forces called Ahuiteteo ("Cheerful Deities") known for "voluptuousness and lust," and each one of the five had a calendrical name that started with the number five (macuilli), a "symbol of excesses" (according to signage at the Templo Mayor), perhaps sexual excesses.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image: 
Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription: 

Juan.macuil

Gloss/Text Normalization: 

Juan Macuil

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
numbers
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
syllable: ma or man (from maitl, hand)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Numbers, Math
Sexuality, Fertility
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
frontal view
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

macuilli, five, manos, cinco, números, nombres de hombres

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

macuil(li), five, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/macuilli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Cinco

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 661r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=402&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: 
See Also: 

Macuil (MH525v)

Macuil (MH625v)

Macuil (MH809v)

Macuil (MH667r)