Tezcaozoma (MH857r)

Tezcaozoma (MH857r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Tezcaozoma (literally, “Mirror-Monkey”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows the head of a monkey (ozomatli) in profile, facing toward the viewer’s right. It has spiky hair, a round mouth, and a large round eye. Below this–and connected to the monkey by a short line–is a small mirror (tezcatl), which comprises two concentric circles. The inner circle is filled in with black paint, representing the polished obsidian that would provide for reflections.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The monkey is a day sign in the tonalpohualli 260-day religious divinatory calendar. Children born under the sign of 1-Monkey had a destiny related to song and dance, writing and painting [see Isabel Laack, Aztec Religion and Art of Writing (2019, 163)]. According to the Werner-Forman Archive, the ozomatli was also considered the companion spirit (‘nahual’) and servant of Xochipilli (divine force of music and dance). See: https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/artefacts/weekly/ozomatli.

Obsidian mirrors also had a sacred value, having an association with the highest leadership and approved by the divine force called Tezcatlipoca (“The Mirror’s Smoke”). See Aztecs/Azteken, an exhibition catalogue, eds. Doris Kurella, Martin Berger and Inés de Castro, at the Linden Museum, Stuttgart; published by Hirmer Publishers of Germany and INAH of Mexico (2019, 309).

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

antonio tezcaoçoma

Gloss Normalization:

Antonio Tezcaozoma

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

Syntax:

line connecting elements

noun(s)

Writing Features:

compound fully logographic

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.

Gender (male)

Hair (human or animal)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Religion (Indigenous)

Technology (all types), plus Tools

Time, Calendar, Frequency

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle(s) (small, often concentric)

facing right

profile view

Parts (compounds or simplex + notation):

Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation):

upward

Keywords:

monos, espejos, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

tezca(tl), a mirror, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tezcatl
ozoma(tli), a monkey, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ozomatli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Espejo-Mono

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 857r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=786&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).

Orthography:

"ç" for z or tz

Historical Contextualizing Image: