Malteotl (MH832r)

Malteotl (MH832r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Malteotl (perhaps "Captive Deity" or a thigh bone wrapped in paper and wearing a mask) is attested here as a man's name. It shows a right hand (maitl) reaching in from the left. In the hand is a disproportionately small, naked, male captive (malli) in a seated position, in profile, facing right, with its hands and feet going forward. The -teotl (divinity) part of the name is not shown visually.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Before captives were offered in human sacrifice in honor of the divine forces (teotl), the captives could be stripped naked. (See Enrique René Martínez, Encounter of Two Worlds, 1992, 217.)

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

juā malteotl

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Malteotl

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: 
deity name/theonym
personal name
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Religion (Indigenous)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
facing right
profile view
Keywords: 

desnudo, cautivo, víctima, sacrificio, ofrenda, nombres de hombres

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

malteo(tl), the "god-captive", https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/malteotl
mai(tl), hand or arm, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/maitl
mal(li), a captive or prisoner, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/malli
teo(tl), a divine or sacred force, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/teotl

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 832r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=738&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: 

Malcahuitl (MH785r)