Quetzalapitzqui (MH711r)

Quetzalapitzqui (MH711r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This colorful painting of the compound glyph for the personal name, Quetzalapitzqui (perhaps “Quetzal Wind-Instrument Player”), shows a horizontal, yellow wind instrument with three finger holes. The top of the instrument has some hatching, which gives it a three-dimensionality. The interior of the horn is white. Coming out from behind the instrument are ten green quetzal feathers, also horizontal. The -qui suffix is suggested by the way the tribute payer’s face is incorporated as someone who is blowing the instrument.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

In the gloss, the “a” after the element “quetzal” raises a little question. Pitza means to play a wind instrument, but apitza means to have diarrhea. The guess that this is a chirimía is supported by colonial Nahuatl manuscripts that mention it; it came into Nahuatl as a loan from Spanish. Here’s a photo of one that survives in Mexico open-source. Nahua community bands in Puebla about a century ago might have a huehuetl (drum), a military drum, and one or two chirimías, as captured in this sound recording shared by INAH. For another European-introduced musical instrument, see below.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
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)
Writing Features: 
compound fully logographic
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Feathers
Gender (male)
Music, Song, Dance
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Sensory Perception
Technology (all types), plus Tools
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
green (light)
white/neutral
yellow or golden
Shapes and Perspectives: 
facing right
horizontal
profile view
shading and parallel line hatching
three-dimensionality
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
right to left
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

plumas, quetzales, instrumentos de viento, chirimía, nombres de hombres

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

quetzal(li), quetzal feathers, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/quetzalli
pitza, to play a wind instrument, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/pitza
apitza, to have diarrhea, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/apitza
-qui, one who does this thing, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/qui
chirimía, a single-reed wind instrument, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chirim%C3%ADa

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

posiblemente, Músico con Quetzal-Chirimía

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 711r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=500.

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).

Orthography: 
"g" for c, q, or x
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Chamil (MH529r)