Teohua (MH670r)

Teohua (MH670r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Teohua (perhaps “Possessor of Divinity”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a stone (tetl) with curling ends and black and white stripes across the middle. This is employed here as a phonetic indicator that the name starts with Te-. To push Te- to Teo-, there is a bearded man’s head above the rock. It is shown in profile, facing toward the viewer’s right. Perhaps this is meant to be Jesus Christ and stand for teotl (divine force or deity), which would suggest European and ecclesiastical influence.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The use of stone (tetl) as the phonetic indicator for start to the name, Te-, is interesting here, where there may be an avoidance on the part of the tlacuilo to draw something divine, perhaps with the intention of not calling attention to Indigenous religious content.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

luys.teoua.

Gloss Normalization: 

Luis Teohua

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Gender (male)
Hair (human or animal)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Religion (Indigenous Christianity)
Stones, Rocks, Lapidary, Masonry
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
facing right
profile view
striped
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
upward
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

piedras, divinidad, deidades, religión indígena, religión cristiana, barbas, nombres de hombres

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

teo(tl), a divine or sacred force, divinity, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/teotl
-hua (singular possessive suffix), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/hua

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Poseedor de Divinidad

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 670r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=420&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: 

Teohua (MH565r)

Teoyohua (MH616v)

Teohua (MH831r)