tolin (Mdz3v)

tolin (Mdz3v)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for tolin (reeds, rushes, tules) has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Toltitlan. The glyph shows four vertical, two-tone, green reeds with white bits at the bottom, a purple base that joins them together (grounds them), and yellow tips and yellow round shapes just below the tips.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Tules were used for baskets, mats, seats, footwear, and fans for the fire, so they were crucial for everyday life.

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

Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Plants, Flora
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
green (dark)
green (light)
purple (light)/lavender
white/neutral
yellow or golden
Keywords: 

tolli, tollin, tolin, reeds, sedges, bulrushes, tules, tullin, tuli, tule, toli

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

tol(in), reeds, rushes, tules, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tolin

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 3 verso, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 17 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: 

Toltitlan (Mdz3v)