Nentequitl (MH626r)

Nentequitl (MH626r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Nentequitl ("Labor in Vain") is attested here as a man's name. The glyph shows a nenetl (deity image or doll) holding an agricultural tool that has the semantic value of tequitl (work). The doll is dressed in a skirt and has two squared-off protrusions on its head, which could symbolize the neaxtlahualli hairstyle of women. The doll holds the digging stick at an angle across its body.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The black tool the female figurine holds recalls two things, one phonetic and one logographic. The color and rectangular shape suggest an obsidian blade, which is used to cut (tequi). For a photo of a cache of obsidian from c. 1400 in Tlatelolco, see this INAH link. But the way it is being held, it is reminiscent of the huictli, an agricultural tool and symbol of work (tequitl). So, this compound glyph could be partially or fully phonographic.

The five extra days in the calendar of 360 days (xiuhpohualli) were called nemontemi (useless days). It was unlucky to be born on these days. A man who was born in this period was called nenoquich and a woman was called nencihuatl. This is explained in the Florentine Codex in Book 2, folio 12 recto (see: https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/book/2/folio/12r). These individuals were considered unlucky, ill-fated, and even useless. A great many individuals in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco have names beginning with the negative syllable Nen-. Perhaps they were born in that ill-fated period, or perhaps the negative syllable came to be even more liberally applied. With men, for instance, Nentequitl (perhaps a lazy worker) was much more common than Nenoquich. When presented visually, the nen- syllable could derive from nenetl (a figure or sculpture of a deity or a doll). Nenetl also had an association with women’s genitals, which has caused much speculation about a negativity associated with women and their sex, but that might have come from European religious influence. In the colonial context, such concepts and perceptions could easily become muddied.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

andres
nētequitl

Gloss Normalization: 

Andrés Nentequitl

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Writing Features: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Shapes and Perspectives: 
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
Keywords: 

phonetic syllables, sílabas fonéticas, work, labor, trabajo, dolls, muñecas, nenetl, imágenes de deidades, esculturas de piedra, genitales de mujeres, mal comportamiento, madera, herramienta agrícola, coa, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 
Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Trabajo en Vano, o Trabajador Inútil

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 626r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=334.

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: