Ocelotl (MH505v)

Ocelotl (MH505v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Ocelotl (jaguar) shows the head of the animal in profile, looking toward the viewer's right. It has a mottled coat, large rounded ears, a large and open eye, sharp fangs protruding from its mouth, and an unusually large and protruding tongue that curves toward the end.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The human tongue was a self-sacrificial site for blood letting (see tlacoquixtia, below). Perhaps this is why animal tongues captured considerable attention from Nahua painters. If one searches the word tongue in the Quick Search box, one will find other examples of jaguars, dogs, eagles, a worm, a bat, a coyote, and especially snakes with protruding tongues.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

matheo
ocelotl

Gloss Normalization: 

Mateo Ocelotl

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Teeth Protruding/Noticeable
Tongue Protruding/Noticeable
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
curving, curvy, curved
facing right
profile view
striped
Keywords: 

jaguars, jaguares, tongues, lenguas

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

ocelo(tl), a jaguar, or an ocelot, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ocelotl

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 505v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=90&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: 
See Also: 

tlacoquixtia (TR9r)

ocelotl (Mdz52r)

itzcuintli (TR8r)

ocuilin (Mdz34r)

cuauhtli (Mdz24v)