Nentequitl (MH634r)
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 at an angle against her body, which can have 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.
Stephanie Wood
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.
Stephanie Wood
nēteq~tl
Nentequitl
Stephanie Wood
1560
Jeff Haskett-Wood
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
nene(tl), deity image, doll, female genitals, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nenetl
tequi(tl), work, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tequitl
nentequi(tl), useless work, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nentequitl
Trabajo en Vano, o Trabajador Inútil
Stephanie Wood
Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 634r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=350st=image.
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).