tetetla (T1876:8:3r)
This simplex glyph indicates an area of rocky land (tetetla)) in the Huexotzinco region of Puebla. It consists of a set of at least twenty-five reduplicated tetl) glyphs indicating the tough nature of the landscape. The locative -tla, meaning a place of abundance of tetl, is implied in the repetition of stones. The range of "badlands" (seemingly referring to an old volcanic flow, such as one finds in southern Mexico City today and called the "Pedregal") extends along most of one edge of the codex, glossed as being in the south (sur). Each tetl is drawn in classic style (see other examples, below right), with angled bands in neutral tones alternating with those in at least two shades of grey, plus curling ends. A related term for badlands is tetla), but considering the extensive reduplication of tetl elements, we have used the reduplicated tetetla, instead.
Robert Haskett
The pictorial upon which the simplex glyph appears was submitted by Nahua representatives of San Matías Huexotzinco to Spanish authorities. The request came from the High Court (Audiencia in Spanish) during the course of an investigation in 1591 of a request from Antonio Rodríguez for a grant of two caballerías of land located near this pueblo. The site involved, glossed in Spanish (but not illustrated), lay to the north of the badlands. A bird’s-eye view of an Indigenous-style house is located to the west of the plot in question and north of the badlands. Directly below the tetetla is the Spanish gloss, malpais (see the image of the gloss, below), and farther to the north is a road bearing human footprints and u-shaped elements standing for horse shoes and, thus, horses’ hooves (see the historical contextualizing image).
Robert Haskett
malpaiz
malpaís
Robert Haskett
1591
Robert Haskett
badlands, stony ground, rocky land, pedregal, malpaís, piedras, obsidiana, flujo de lava
tetetla, rocky or stony land, or pedregal in Spanish, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tetetla
tetla, stony ground, or pedregal in Spanish, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tetla
malpais
Robert Haskett
Single-page codex, Archivo General de la Nación, México, Ramo de Tierras Vol. 1876, Exp. 8, Fol. r.
The Archivo General de la Nación (AGN), México, holds the original manuscript. This image is published here under a Creative Commons license, asking that you cite the AGN and this Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs.
