tlachtli (MH501v)

The signs for olin (movement) in the Codex Mendoza most closely resemble this particular ball court from the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, but not the courts that appear in the Codex Mendoza. Most courts have the shape of a capital letter 'i" lying on its side. This one has the wing shape and the outside rings. While it does not resemble a typical ball court shape, the fact that the tlacuilo named it tlachtli and even conceived of it this way may tell us that the olin shapes are akin to the ball court. The way the ball bounces through the court recalls the motion of the sun and moon through the celestial realm. It is surely no coincidence that olli (rubber balls) and olin (movement) are practically homophones. Maffie (232) notes how "the oscillating path of the Sun" and "bouncing balls" have an important association. Butterflies share in this, too, and the olin glyph in some cases has attributes of butterflies.