Matlalihui (Verg41v)

Matlalihui (Verg41v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This compound Nahuatl hieroglyph is a black-line drawing of the personal name Matlalihui (“Blue-Green Feather”), attested here as a man’s name. The compound has three elements, beginning with a hand (maitl) at the bottom. The hand is a phonetic indicator that provides the Ma- syllable at the start of the name. Moving up, the next element consists of two front teeth (tlantli) with a small amount of gum above them. The teeth are another phonetic indicator, providing the -tla[l]- syllable in the middle of the name. Finally, three down feathers at the top provide the semantic contribution of the logogram of ihuitl (feather).

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The Williams and Hicks edition of the Codex Vergara gives the name Maxtlalihui, but there is no “x” in the gloss, and no loincloth in the visual elements, so I conclude the root is matlalin, referring to the beautiful blue-green color (or the flower associated with that color). The same name and same compound appear in the Codex Vergara on folio 47 recto, and in that case William and Hicks give MalalihuicaseThe Matrícula de Huexotzinco has many names with the -matlal- glyphic element, but the name Matlalihui includes a flower painted the indicated color.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image:

Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription:

mth. matlalihui.

Gloss/Text Normalization:

Mateo Matlalihui

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Vergara, Codex (Verg)

Date of Manuscript:

1539

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

near Tepetlaoztoc, near Tetzcoco

Semantic Categories:

personal name

phonetic dimensions

Syntax:

noun(s)

syllable: ma/man/mani (from maitl, hand)

syllable: tla/tlan/tlal (from tlantli)

Writing Features:

compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Anatomy, human body parts

Feathers

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

frontal view

tripartite

Parts (compounds or simplex + notation):

Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation):

upward

Keywords:

plumas, colores, mano, manos dientes, nombres de hombres, men’s names, fonetismo

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

matlal(in), a blue-green color or a dark green color, or a flower of this color, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matlalin-0
ihui(tl), a feather, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ihuitl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Pluma Azul, o Pluma Azul-Verde

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Available at Codex Vergara, folio 41v, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/f90.item.zoom, accessed 14 March 2026. The Vergara is associated with Tepetlaoztoc, in the larger region of Tetzcoco, c. 1539–1543. “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/.

Image Source, Rights:

Image Rights: The non-commercial reuse of images from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is free as long as the user is in compliance with the legislation in force and provides the citation: “Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France” or “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/

Orthography:

intrusive period

Historical Contextualizing Image: