tlapetlaniliztli (FCbk7f10v)

This iconographic example, featuring a lightning strike (tlapetlaniliztli), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making potential comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the companion text in the Digital Florentine Codex. This example shows a lightning flash that has six legs or fingers, all curling around, suggesting considerable movement, something like an octopus. The fingers are painted yellow and have red tips. Perhaps they were imagined as flames. The Spanish-language text explains how the people believed that the divine forces of rain–Tlaloque and Tlamacazque–were believed to make the lightning strikes.