patlache (FCbk10f40v)

This iconographic example, featuring an intersex person (patlache,or patlacheh, with the added glottal stop), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making possible comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the text near the image in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows two people, a person dressed in women’s clothing seated on the viewer’s left, and an intersex person (patlache) standing on the viewer’s right. Their clothing has been shaded to give it a three-dimensionality, showing European artistic influences. The focus is the person on the right, who wears only a man’s cloak (tilmatli) and is otherwise nude. This person does have an adult woman’s hairstyle (neaxtlahualli) and large breasts, but the abdominal musculature reminiscent of what is today called a “six-pack.” The person’s left arm is hanging down, and the hand covers the spot where the genitals might otherwise be seen, leaving them ambiguous. But the text refers to a woman with a penis (“cioatl xipne tepule”). With the right hand, the patlache points (mapilhuia) to the person seated. Such a gesture can often suggest some degree of authority. The two people also enter into a conversation, with speech scrolls going both directions. Having a voice could also suggest some authority. One of the scrolls coming from the person who is seated seems to have a flower attached to it, which could suggest that the conversation is pleasant and/or perhaps about sexuality and fertility. If we can trust the translation by Anderson and Dibble, the text refers to the patlache as “she” and “her,” female even if manlike, and someone who has sexual relations with other women, which leads to the DFC keywording team to add “lesbian.”