Miquetlan (Mdz52r)

Miquetlan (Mdz52r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This compound glyph for the place name Miquetlan (or Miquiyetlan) has two principal elements, a dead body (micqui), sitting upright with knees under the chin (which is, incidentally, a male posture, and perhaps the sitting position of a noble) and wrapped and tied in a shroud, plus a black bean (etl) resting on the head of the body. The only other color in this glyph is at the man's feet, where they are bare and painted a terracotta color.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

Although the gloss provides only "Mictlan," we are giving this the title "Miquetlan," due to the presence of the bean (etl). The "e" phonetic component provided by the bean may be intended to distinguish this Miquetlan or Miquiyetlan (in Veracruz) from the Mictlan in Oaxaca. However, the glyphs for Miquetlan or Miquiyetlan have a very different visual, usually an uncovered corpse laid out straight, and therefore probably not a noble (see below, right). It is not clear why the added bean is used here, whereas a different type of corpse (miquetl) was used at other times. Again, it may be a regional difference in Nahuatl.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

mictlan / pu^o

Gloss Normalization:

Mictlan, pueblo

Gloss Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)

Date of Manuscript:

c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Semantic Categories:

phonetic dimensions

place name

Syntax:

locative (not visual)

noun(s)

Writing Features:

compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Anatomy, human body parts

Death, decay, decomposition

Food, Eating, Cooking

Gender (male)

Names (places)

Rope, cord

Textiles, Clothing, Hats, Regalia

Cultural Content, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Colors:

black

orange/terracotta

white/neutral

Shapes and Perspectives:

profile view

tied, bound, or bundled

Parts (of compounds or simplex + notation):

Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation):

upward

Keywords:

death, deceased, dead, muerte, muertos, cadáveres, beans, frijoles

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

mictlan, place of the dead, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mictlan
micqui, deceased person, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/micqui
e(tl), bean, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/etl
mique(tl), deceased person, dead body, corpse, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/miquetl
-tlan (locative suffix), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlan

Image Source:

Codex Mendoza, folio 52 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 114 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).