Tlacatecatl (MH729r)

Tlacatecatl (MH729r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name or ethnicity Tlacatecatl (“Person from Tlacatlan”) is attested here as pertaining to a man. It shows a small, nude person (tlacatl) wearing a hint of a cape and a diadem which both point to his being a lord (also tlacatl). Since both “person” and “lord” can be read from this glyph, and the Nahuatl terms are homophones, one is phonetically reinforcing the other.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

One other visual for tlacatl (person) appears as somewhat vulnerable, small and naked, but that one is meant to be -tontli (diminutive). Still, take note of some of the other small, naked men in this collection, below.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Source Manuscript:

Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)

Date of Manuscript:

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories:

homophony, rebus

personal name

phonetic dimensions

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Anatomy, human body parts

Gender (male)

Jewelry, Crowns, or other Adornment

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Nudity

Race, Ethnicity, Identity

Socio-Political Units, Cities, Towns, Neighborhoods

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

checked, cross-hatched, or mesh

facing right

profile view

tied, bound, or bundled

Keywords:

cuerpo humano, persona, señor, noble, diadema, etnicidades, pueblos, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

tlaca(tl), a person or a lord, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlacatl
-tecatl (affiliation suffix), a person of, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tecatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

(una persona de Tlacatlan)

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 729r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=536&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:

"o" for u or uh

Historical Contextualizing Image: