tequitl (Verg21v)

tequitl (Verg21v)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the element representing tequitl (work) shows what is meant to be a rectangle with squiggly lines dividing it into thirds. A comparison with tribute cloths as drawn in the Codex Tepetlaoztoc/Kingsborough on various folios shows rectangular white "mantas" (as glossed in Spanish) with squiggly lines dividing them into three and four pieces.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The compound from which this element has been extracted relates to coatequitl, tribute labor. Draft labor could be agricultural, but it might also involved urban construction and mine labor, among other things. Women had to produce textiles for tribute, but it remains to be verified whether their work was called either coatequitl or tequitl.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Vergara, Codex (Verg)
Date of Manuscript: 

1539

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Tepetlaoztoc, near Tetzcoco

Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Agriculture, Gardens, Stock Raising
Labor Issues
Land Parcels, Use, Issues
Tributes, Taxation, Service
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
bird's eye view
rectangular
Keywords: 

work, trabajo, tributos

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

tequi(tl), tribute labor land allotment, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tequitl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

el trabajo, o una asignación de tierra

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Vergara, folio 21v, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/f50.item.zoom

Image Source, Rights: 

The non-commercial reuse of images from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is free as long as the user is in compliance with the legislation in force and provides the citation: “Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France” or “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/.

See Also: 

Totequipan (Verg21v)

Yancuictlan (Mdz12r)

cuachtli (Mdz30r)

manta (TK2v)