Tlacuatl (MH629r)

Tlacuatl (MH629r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Tlacuatl shows a profile view of the head of an opossum (tlacuatl or, in modern Mexican Spanish, tlacuache). The animal is facing toward the viewer's right. The animal's mouth is open with teeth visible. Its right paw is near its mouth, as though eating tlacua, to eat), which seems to provide a phonetic complement.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Although there is no hint of sexuality of fertility in this glyph, in Nahua culture the tlacuatl does have associations with sexuality and fertility. [See the MA art history thesis by Deniz Martinez, “Cross-cultural Currents and Syncretism in Early Modern Opossum Iconography,” Lindenwood University, 2022, 39; https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&c...

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

Juan
tlaquatl

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Tlacuatl

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
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Teeth Protruding/Noticeable
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
dotted, granular, textured
facing right
profile view
Keywords: 

marsupials, marsupiales, animales, tlacuache, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

tlacua(tl), an opossum, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlacuatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Zarigüeya

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 628v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=340st=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: 
"q" for c
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Tlacuatl (MH578v)

Tlacuatl (MH631r)