tlachia (Verg42r)

tlachia (Verg42r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element, which is a black-line drawing of a frontal view of a human eye, has been carved from the compound personal name Yaotlachia (“The Combatant Looks” or the “Enemy Watches”). This eye has the iconography of the Western or European human eye. This open eye has a pupil and eye lashes. It is shown in a frontal view, which is not unusual for eyes. It plays the role in the original compound of indicating the verb, tlachia (to look or observe).

Description, 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
Syntax: 
verb
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
frontal view
Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

tlachia, to look, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlachia

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

mirar, observar

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Available at Codex Vergara, folio 42r, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/f91.item.zoom, accessed 14 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/

See Also: 

Yaotlachia (Verg42r)

Tlachia (MH716r)