pilli (FCbk12f59r)

This iconographic example, featuring a black and white sketch of a family with two children (involving the noun, pilli), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making 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 a Mexica mother and father, each one carrying a child (and the sex of each child is unclear). The Nahuatl text explains that the family is fleeing the war in the capital, going to nearby Tlatelolco for refuge. The text also notes how emotional this is for them, saying “many were the tears of the women.” Ironically, it is from the father that a short stream of water (a tear) drips. This water is a hieroglyphic detail in what is otherwise just an iconographic scene. The mother is pointing one of her fingers upwards. This same family also appears on folio 60 recto, standing between the hieroglyphs for Tenochtitlan (which they left) and Tlatelolco (where they took refuge).