momoyactli (Mdz20v)

momoyactli (Mdz20v)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This iconographic example shows a warrior uniform or regalia, identified by Berdan and Anawalt (The Codex Mendoza, 1992, vol. 1, Appendix F) as the momoyactli "warrior costume." The name momoyactli referred to dispersed feathers. In this case, the uniform is decorated primarily with red feathers. Some white feathers also hang in front of the crotch. The headdress, on a wooden frame, has an array of feathers that are red, white, and two tones of green.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The corresponding shield was the classic cuexyo design.

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

pieça di armas
desta divisa de en
un año / eran
di plumas coloradas

Gloss Normalization:

pieza de armas de esta divisa de en un año / eran de plumas coloradas

Gloss Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)

Date of Manuscript:

by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Feathers

Textiles, Clothing, Hats, Regalia

Colors:

Keywords:

feathers, plumas

Museum & Rare Book Comparisons:

Museum/Rare Book Notes:

This headdress on a frame might make a useful comparison. It is a reproduction of a detail from the Lienzo de Tlaxcala made by Mariana Castillo Deball y Eduardo Abaroa in an exhibition (“Imaginar el Fin de los Tiempos”) in the Museo de Antropología, Mexico City. Comment and photo by Stephanie Wood, 17 Feb. 2024.

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

momoyac(tli), a type of warrior outfit, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/momoyactli

Image Source:

Codex Mendoza, folio 20 verso, https://codicemendoza.inah.gob.mx/inicio.php?lang=english.

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).

Historical Contextualizing Image: