Matlalihuitl (MH518v)

Matlalihuitl (MH518v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This compound glyph for the personal name Matlalihuitl ("Blue-Green Feather," here, attested as a man's name) shows a quincunx-shaped flower with four turquoise-blue (matlalin) petals and a white center that is surrounded by some red (not a true red, but somewhat pink or purple). The flower also has little tips of leaves or small circles in where the petals come together and a horizontal stem. Up and to the left of the flower is a feather (ihuitl).

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The resulting analysis for the name could be "Blue-Green Feather." This flower is reminiscent of at least two other glyphs worthy of comparison. One is the flower in the compound glyph for Tonal (MH528v), which suggests that a flower of this shape can be a quincunx and have connections to the sun, a day, and the cosmos more generally. That design, in turn, connects to glyphs from the Codex Mendoza for tonalli. Another example worthy of comparison here is the flower in the name Xochipoloa. That one clearly has four small circles around the perimeter of the flower, reminiscent of the small circles that may suggest a shimmer on a range of glyphs for shiny objects. (See the article on Shimmering Glyphs on the navigation bar at the left.)

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

pe^o matlaliuitl

Gloss Normalization:

Pedro Matlalihuitl

Gloss Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)

Date of Manuscript:

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories:

personal name

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Cardinal Directions, Cosmos

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Plants, Flora

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood and Stephanie Wood

Colors:

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle, circular or rounded

frontal view

quincunx or quatrefoil

shimmer, vibrance, shine with warmth & movement

Parts (of compounds or simplex + notation):

Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation):

upward

right to left

Keywords:

flowers, flores, feathers, plumas, colores, azul

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

ihui(tl), feather, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ihuitl
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
xochi(tl), flower, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xochitl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Pluma Azul

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 518v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=116&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: