Nencihuatl (MH632v)

Nencihuatl (MH632v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Nencihuatl (perhaps "Lazy Woman"). The compound glyph includes the sign of nenetl (deity image, female doll, or woman's genitals), which can provide the phonetic syllable Ne- or Nen-. Here, this sign is a frontal view of a face and head. On the top of the head are two squared-off protrusions that are reminiscent of the ceramic dolls of women from an earlier time and/or some deities or supernaturals have them. The other element in the compound is the profile of a woman's (cihuatl) head looking toward the viewer's right. Her hairstyle, the neaxtlahualli, is the diagnostic indicator that this is a woman. This involves twisted locks that are tied in such a way as to have the ends stand up on each side of the forehead.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

Nencihuatl is found in the dictionary, but necihuatl is not. A dropping of the letter "n" is not at all unusual; so perhaps it should be there, even though it does not appear in the gloss. If the reading should NOT be nen-, then the only other hint at a different reading comes from the dictionary term "necihuatiliztli" (a man's marriage to a woman).

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

agata
neçihuatl

Gloss Normalization:

Agata Nencihuatl

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

phonetic dimensions

Syntax:

ne or nen syllable

noun(s)

Writing Features:

compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Anatomy, human body parts

Gender (female)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Religion (Indigenous)

Toys

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

facing right

frontal view

profile view

Keywords:

women, mujeres, dolls, muñecas, nombres de mujeres, nombres negativos

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

cihua(tl), woman, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cihuatl
necihuahuatiliz(tli), a man’s marriage to a woman, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/necihuahuatiliztli
nen-, in vain, uselessly, for nothing, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nen
nenca, to be idle, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nenca
nencauh, one’s servant, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nencauh
nene(tl), doll, deity image, or female genitals, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nenetl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Mujer Floja

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 632r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=347st=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: