tlaxtlahuilli (CST43)

tlaxtlahuilli (CST43)
Simplex Glyph
Notation

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This is a painting of the simplex glyph for the purchase of wood and the payment of wages (tlaxtlahuilli, given as itlaxtlahuil, his wages, here in the companion text) to the carpenter (cuauhxinqui) who made something (seemingly a ladder) from the wood (cuahuitl). His pay came to 22 pesos, broken down into a single peso with a flag on top that represented twenty, plus two more pesos below that, for a total of 22. Some spilled water has obscured the lower two pesos. The companion text notes that the wood he used was necessary for a monument (given as monumento, a Spanish loanword)–probably for its construction. The scene in the manuscript does not show the carpenter receiving his wages, just the coins and the amount paid.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

For more on the Codex Sierra, see Kevin Terraciano’s study (2021), especially pp. 126 and 158 for his transcription of the Nahuatl and its translation to English. See below for an iconographic portrait of a carpenter (cuauhxinqui) at work, along with a glyph representing the occupation of woodworker.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Source Manuscript:

Sierra/Texupan, Codex (CST)

Date of Manuscript:

1550–1564

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Santa Catalina Texupan, Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca

Semantic Categories:

numbers

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

simplex or element as logogram

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Flags, banners

Money, Coins, Prices

Numbers, Math

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black

red

yellow or golden

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle(s) (small, often concentric)

cross (+)

Other Cultural Influences:

Mixtec

Keywords:

pagos, sueldos, carpinteros, escaleras

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

tlaxtlahuil(li), wages or payment for work, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlaxtlahuilli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

salario

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Códice Sierra-Texupan, plate 43, page dated 1561. Origin: Santa Catalina Texupan, Mixteca Alta, State of Oaxaca. Kevin Terraciano has published an outstanding study of this manuscript (Codex Sierra, 2021), and in his book he refers to alphabetic and “pictorial” writing, not hieroglyphic writing. We are still counting some of the imagery from this source as hieroglyphic writing, but we are also including examples of “iconography” where the images verge on European style illustrations or scenes showing activities. We have this iconography category so that such images can be fruitfully compared with hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphic writing was evolving as a result of the influence of European illustrations, and even alphabetic writing impacted it.
https://bidilaf.buap.mx/objeto.xql?id=48281&busqueda=Texupan&action=search

Image Source, Rights:

The Biblioteca Digital Lafragua of the Biblioteca Histórica José María Lafragua in Puebla, Mexico, publishes this Códice Sierra-Texupan, 1550–1564 (62pp., 30.7 x 21.8 cm.), referring to it as being in the “Public Domain.” This image is published here under a Creative Commons license, asking that you cite the Biblioteca Digital Lafragua and this Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs.

Historical Contextualizing Image: