Quetzalhuacan (MH627r)

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the place name Quetzalhuacan ("Where They Have Quetzal Feathers") shows, at the top, a frontal view of a calli (house or building). This is a silent locative. The building has the usual large beams framig the entrance; the lower part of the vertical beams is painted black. Below the building is a hand-held feather device made from quetzalli (quetzal feathers). The hand can be playing two roles here. It shows that the feather device is hand-held (a semantic role). But it is also grasping the handle, which can represent a phonogram for the "hua" (possession) syllable.