tochtli (Mdz8r)

tochtli (Mdz8r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for rabbit [tochtli has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Cuauhtochco. The rabbit appears in profile, standing on its hind legs, with its front legs in the air. Its ears are standing up, and we see one of its eyes is open. Some fangs protrude from its mouth. Its coat is textured and colored purple, with the exception of its underside, which is white.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The rabbit is a prevalent animal in the countryside. It is also a calendrical symbol, for both day and year signs. The shape visible in the moon is also a rabbit, and rabbits had an association with the alcoholic beverage (octli) made from the agave.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

c. 1541, but by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
day name
year 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: 
dotted, granular, textured
facing left
profile view
SVG of Glyph: 
Keywords: 

rabbits, hares, xiuhpohualli, año, turquesa, xihuitl

Museum & Rare Book Comparisons: 
Museum/Rare Book Notes: 

tochtli. The tochtli (rabbit) was associated with the intoxicating beverage octli (pulque), which was consumed in religious ceremonies and offered to divinities such as Ometochtli. This pot was probably used for this purpose. Photograph by Robert Haskett, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 2011.

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 8 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 25, 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: 

tochtli (Mdz50r)

tochtli (Mdz48r)

tochtli (Mdz46r)

tochtli (Mdz17v)

Cuauhtochco (Mdz8r)