tochtli (Mdz48r)

tochtli (Mdz48r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element has been carved from the compound glyph for Cuauhtochco. It is a full-bodied, sitting rabbit, resting on its haunches, with its two front legs in the air. It appears in profile, facing to the viewer's right. It has a short tail and long, standing ears. Its eye is open, and we can see its white front teeth. The rabbit is largely purple with hash marks all over its body to give texture to its coat. Its underside, from it nose to its haunches, is white, still bearing the hash marks.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The rabbit was a year sign in the calendar. It is the shape associated with the moon. It was also a prominent animal in the countryside. Elsewhere in this database we will see examples of tochtli with just the rabbit head, as the full body was not necessary to identify it. The prominent ears and teeth are hallmarks.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
year name
day name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Teeth Protruding/Noticeable
Time, Calendar, Frequency
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
purple
white/neutral
Shapes and Perspectives: 
facing right
profile view
SVG of Glyph: 
SVG Image, Credit: 

Crystal Boulton-Scott

Keywords: 

rabbits, conejos, xiuhpohualli, año

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

toch(tli), rabbit, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tochtli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

el conejo

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 48 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 106 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).

See Also: 

Cuauhtochco (Mdz48r)