Matlalaca (MH486r)

Matlalaca (MH486r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This compound glyph for the personal name Matlalaca includes an upright reed (acatl) and a flower. The reed is segmented like bamboo or carrizo. It also has two thin leaves. The flower (matlalin) has three large, rounded petals, with a small circle in the middle and some texturing on the petals. Small points appear between each of the petals. A matlalin glyph, below, provided for the purpose of comparison, has a beautiful turquoise blue color with a red or pink center.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

This was a prominent autonomous-era name and one that lived on into the Spanish colonial era, as shown in our Online Nahuatl Dictionary. Matlalacatl would appear to be a dark green reed or a flower that grows on a dark green herb. It is also close to the name Matlactli Acatl ("Ten Reed" or "10-Reed") a calendrical name. If that is really the intended name, then the flower would serve a phonetic purpose.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

fran^co matlallaca

Gloss Normalization:

Francisco Matlalaca

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:

phonetic dimensions

personal name

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

compound fully logographic

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Color names

Flowers

Plants, Flora

Cultural Content, Credit:

José Aguayo-Barragán and Stephanie Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle, circular or rounded

linear or multiple straight lines

tripartite

vertical, upright

Parts (of compounds or simplex + notation):

Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation):

right to left

Keywords:

flowers, herbs, reeds, cañas, flores, hierbas, colores

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

Matlalaca, a personal name, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matlalaca
matlal(in), dark green, blue, or blue-green color or flower of this color, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matlalin
matlac(tli), ten, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matlactli
aca(tl), reed/cane, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/acatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

La Caña Verde Oscuro

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 483r, World Digital Library. https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=51&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: