Tetzauhtototl (Verg40v)

Tetzauhtototl (Verg40v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This compound Nahuatl hieroglyph is a black-line drawing of the personal name Tetzauhtototl (perhaps, “Ominous Bird”). It is attested here as a man’s name. It shows a bird (tototl) in profile, facing right, with its beak tipped upward. To the right of the bird is a spindle, loaded with yarn or thread. A spindle is a malacatl, but a spinner is a tzauhqui, which shares a part with this name (-tzauh-), represented phonetically.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The construction of this name, Tetzauhtototl, is something like the construction of the word Tetzauhquimichin, which refers to “ominous mice,” according to the English translation of a part of the Florentine Codex. That construction raises the possibility of the bird being “ominous.” Another possible reading for tetzauh- is scandalous, as in tetzauhcihuatl, scandalous woman. This digital collection has several examples of the name Tetzauh, sometimes represented visually as something mysterious or ominous, but also in phonetic constructions involving spinning. The verb tzahua means “to spin yarn or thread.” The combining stem of tzahua is tzauh-.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image:

Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription:

mīn. tetzauhtototl.

Gloss/Text Normalization:

Martín Tetzauhtototl

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Vergara, Codex (Verg)

Date of Manuscript:

1539

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

near Tepetlaoztoc, near Tetzcoco

Semantic Categories:

personal name

phonetic dimensions

Syntax:

noun(s)

syllable: tzauh (from tzahua, to spin thread)

Writing Features:

compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Animals: Birds

Feathers

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Technology (all types), plus Tools

Textiles, Clothing, Hats, Regalia

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

facing right

profile view

Parts (compounds or simplex + notation):

Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation):

right to left

Keywords:

nombres de hombres, men’s names, hilado, huso, pájaro, pájaros, presagio, ominoso, escandaloso

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

tetzahui(tl), omen, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tetzahuitl
tetzauhquimichin, ominous mice, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tetzauhquimichin
toto(tl), a bird, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tototl
tzahua, to spin thread or yarn, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tzahuai
tetzauhcihua(tl), a scandalous woman, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tetzauhcihuatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

posiblemente, Pájaro Ominoso

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Available at Codex Vergara, folio 40v, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/f88.item.zoom, accessed 10 March 2026. The Vergara is associated with Tepetlaoztoc, in the larger region of Tetzcoco, c. 1539–1543. “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/.

Image Source, Rights:

Image 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/

Orthography:

intrusive period

Historical Contextualizing Image: