Tlacuatl (MH631r)

Tlacuatl (MH631r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Tlacuatl ("Opossum" or "Possum," attested here as a man's name) shows a little animal in profile view, facing toward the viewer's right. It has spots on its coat, its feet are stretched out in front of it, and its tail is curving behind. The tlacuatl entered Mexican Spanish as tlacuache.

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...

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

antonio
tlaquatl

Gloss Normalization: 

Antonio 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
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Sexuality, Fertility
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
spotted or mottled
profile view
facing right
Keywords: 

animales, animales, zarigüeya, marsupial, 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: 

Tlacuache

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 631r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=344&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: 
"q" for c
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Tlacuatl (MH578v)

Tlacuatl (MH629r)