micqui (Mdz49r)

micqui (Mdz49r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for a deceased person (micqui) has been carved from the compound glyph for the place name, Mictlan Cuauhtlan. The corpse or mummy bundle is sitting upright, in profile, facing to the viewer's right. It is seated in the posture of a male, with knees up under the chin. It is wrapped with white close reminiscent of a cloak, also worn by men, often elite men. What appears to be rope (white with black lines suggestive of a twisted cordage) criss-crosses the corpse and goes horizontally around the neck.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The wrapping of the shroud can also be completely horizontal, as we see in some other examples of this element (below, right). Some bodies are not wrapped, but are laid out naked.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, but by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Death, decay, decomposition
Gender (male)
Rope, cord
Textiles, Clothing, Hats, Regalia
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
white/neutral
Shapes and Perspectives: 
cross (x)
facing right
profile view
tied, bound, or bundled
Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

micqui, dead person , https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/micqui

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 49 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 108 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).

See Also: 

Mictlan Cuauhtlan (Mdz49r)

micqui (Mdz43r)

micqui (Mdz10v)

micqui (Mdz12r)