Tlilpotonqui (MH692r)

Tlilpotonqui (MH692r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Tlilpotonqui (perhaps indicating here a priestly name) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a circle filled in with black paint and black dots all around this circle (outside of it). The color name black is tlilli (also meaning ink). The dots around the circle may suggest a sticky substance, which has a semantic relevance in the larger and varying definitions of the term tlilpotonqui.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

Magnus Pharao Hansen wrote this when trying to translate Tlilpotonqui (which he found in the Morelos census of 1544): "'he stinks black'?". [See his blog.) That translation could work literally, but the ritual dimension seems important for clarifying that the reference is probably not to bodily odor. Tlilpotonqui was a priestly name that some say refers to black dust or a black stinky substance, apparently involving an adornment (perhaps a staff) that was glued with black feathers. See below for other examples. The name was held by some illustrious figures, including Quetzalcoatl and Miguel Tlilpotonqui, son of Tlacaelel and grandson of Huitzilihuitl. Tlilpotonqui could also refer to a child born outside of marriage. See the Online Nahuatl Dictionary for more information.

See also the Yauhpotonqui glyph, below. This suggests a possible connection to incense offerings (and perhaps some of these were not sweet smelling).

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

juā tlilpotogui

Gloss Normalization:

Juan Tlilpotonqui

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)

Writing Features:

simplex or element as logogram

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Color names

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Religion (Indigenous)

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle, circular or rounded

Keywords:

color negro, olor, pegajoso, incienso, chamanes, sacerdotes, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

tlilpotonqui, a personal name, a title, a priest who wore a feather adornment, or a rare bean, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlilpotonqui

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

posiblemente, un nombre de un sacerdote indígena

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 692r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=464&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:

"g" for c, q, or x

Historical Contextualizing Image: