tecua (FCbk11f80r)

This iconographic example, featuring a snake biting someone (tecua), 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 man in profile, facing right, and carrying a load (mamalli) using a tumpline (mecapalli). He is a porter (tlamama, or tlamamah, with the glottal stop). The text explains how this type of rattlesnake (chiyauhcoatl) is attacking the traveler on the road. The snake bites people (tecua), and if he bites one in the morning, it hurts more. But even in the afternoon, a person who has been bitten will have a fever and swell up. The man in this scene is wearing a white (presumably cotton) cloak and sandals with red ties. His visible arm reaches up to hold the tumpline at about the level of his neck. The snake’s red tongue is hitting the pack on the man’s back, but it is not actually biting him.