Necaliztli (MH852v)

Necaliztli (MH852v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Necaliztli (perhaps “Battle”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a traditional war shield (chimalli). It is round with a quincunx pattern. A small circle appears in the middle, and four semicircles with hatch marks appear around the perimeter of the shield. These are apparently down feather balls (probably tlachcayotl in an ihuiteteyo feather shield pattern), which can have an association with Tenochtitlan. The shield has five lines at the bottom and two at the top left that suggest fringe. Flying at an angle above the shield appear five stick-like shapes. These might suggest arrows that have been shot during warfare. The shield and possible arrows are semantic representations of war or battle (necaliztli). There are not apparent phonetic dimensions.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

While warfare is a significant theme in early Nahua history, this is the first necaliztli glyph entering this digital collection with over six thousand glyphs, elements, and examples of iconography so far. Far more common are shields that represent names or words representing chimalli or yaotl.

This seems to be a war shield of the ihuiteteyo design, discussed by Frances Berdan and Patricia Anawalt (The Codex Mendoza, 1992, vol. 1, Appendix G). It can come in different colors. Sometimes the symbols on this design are taken for shells. An article by Ian Mursell in Mexicolore and citing the same authors, reminds us that they are down balls, which have associations with death. He also paraphrases John Pohl, saying that the war shield was very personal, it "represented the warrior’s soul, and would generally be burned at the funeral of a dead man." We also learn from The Codex Mendoza: New Insights (2022, 24), that "the tlacuiloque drew and painted a total of eleven ihuiteteyo, one for each one of the rulers of the city."

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

di^o necaliztli

Gloss Normalization:

Diego Necaliztli

Gloss Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)

Date of Manuscript:

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories:

personal name

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

simplex or element as logogram

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

War or Conflict

Weapons, Shields, Armor

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle (half)

circle(s) (small, often concentric)

quincunx or quatrefoil

shading and parallel line hatching

Keywords:

guerras, batallas, lucha, escudo, flechas, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

necaliz(tli), a battle or a war, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/necaliztli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Batalla

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 852v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=777&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: