tecciztli (FCbk8f41r)

This iconographic example, featuring a man blowing a conch shell (tecciztli) trumpet, is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making potential comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the keywords chosen by the team behind the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss. This example shows the head of a Nahua man in profile, facing right, holding a large pink conch shell trumpet up to his mouth. It is the large swirling end that he puts to his mouth. As the contextualizing image shows, he is part of a group of musicians, including two drummers (tlatzotzonque, tlatzotzonqueh) and two dancers holding up rattles (ayacachtli) or fans. One man plays the standing drum (huehuetl), hitting it with his hands. Another plays the horizontal log drum with slits (teponaztli), striking it with padded drumsticks. The log drum rests on a wooden stand that puts it at a good height for striking while standing. All the men in this group wear the same cloak, white with intersecting red lines, and they all have their hair long and tied at the back of the neck with a red tie. They may be priests.