Quetzaltoma (MH594r)

Quetzaltoma (MH594r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Quetzaltoma (“He Sets Free the Quetzal Feathers,” attested here as a man’s name) shows a frontal view of an upright quetzal feather and a cord that may be untied. At the upper tip of the cord is a down feather.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

In the iconographic example of quetzalli feathers below, we can see how feathers were bound or tied with a cord. In contrast, the cord on this glyph may be untied, reflecting the verb toma, to release. Another interpretation for possible exploration is that the name ends in -tonman, with the -ton referring to smallness and the -man referring to being "in the manner of."

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

pedro quetzaltoma

Gloss Normalization: 

Pedro Quetzaltoma

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)
verb
Writing Features: 
compound fully logographic
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Feathers
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Rope, cord
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
frontal view
tied, bound, or bundled
vertical, upright
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
downward
Keywords: 

loose, untied, feathers, plumas desatadas, rope, cuerda, soga abierta

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

quetzal(li), quetzal feather, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/quetzalli
toma, to set free, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/toma
-ton(tli), diminutive, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tontli
-man(i), in the manner of, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mani-1

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Desatarse la Pluma Quetzal, o A la Manera de una Chica Pluma Quetzal

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 594r, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=267&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: 

quetzalli (Mdz43r)