nauhtomin (Osu18r)

While there is no Nahuatl-language gloss to explain that tomin is the vocabulary term of focus or that nauhtomin can refer to four tomines, but other material in this collection that includes coins makes these assessments reliable. The contextualizing image shows that twelve loads of “yerva” (hierba, grass, which is also called mazatlacualli, “deer” food, i.e. horse fodder, elsewhere in this manuscript) had this value, a little more than 3 and a half pesos. This was expected as part of the tribute in kind that the town would have to provide per day, according to the Spanish-language text on the manuscript page. Not shown here, this larger context includes a large number of peso coins in the top, center and left, which indicate the annual value of this tribute. The peso coins are also blue, but the peso of full value has a cross on it. At the bottom of the contextual image, a fully-clothed Spaniard named Doctor Villalobos sits in a curule chair, wears a sword, carries a staff of office, and emits a speech scroll from his mouth. These are all signs of his ethnicity and his status. Interestingly, the tlacuilo who painted this scene gives Dr. Villalobos, a judge of the high court (Audiencia) of New Spain, a hieroglyphic name that is a challenge to decipher. See a discussion of this challenge on the Tlacuilolli blog.

The visual representation of four tomines (the equivalent of four reales, or half a peso) will perhaps more often be found as a coin with the number “4” written on it. See an example from the Codex Chavero and another one from the Codex Osuna, below. But four dots would have been understood easily, too.