tonalli (T1871:1)

tonalli (T1871:1)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element of a sun (tonalli), representing a day, has been taken from a group of seven suns described in the companion text as "chicometica" (every seven days). This sun has a human-like face on it, in a frontal view, and the short rays of the aura radiate out from the oval face.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This temporal reference is part of a discussion about tributes. This type of representation of the sun conveys European artistic influences. For comparison, see the tonatiuh glyph from the Codex Mendoza, below.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
AGN Tierras 1871, exp. 1
Date of Manuscript: 

1558

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Cuauhtla, Morelos

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Celestial Phenomena
Religion (Indigenous Christianity)
Time, Calendar, Frequency
Tributes, Taxation, Service
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
white/neutral
Shapes and Perspectives: 
oval (see also leaf shaped)
spiky
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

suns, soles, days, días, tributos, calendarios

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

tonalli, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tonalli

Image Source: 

Single-page codex, Archivo General de la Nación, México, Ramo de Tierras, vol. 1871, exp. 1, fol. 28r.

Image Source, Rights: 

The Archivo General de la Nación (AGN), México, holds the original manuscript. This image is published here under a Creative Commons license, asking that you cite the AGN and this Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs.

See Also: 

tonatiuh (Mdz34r)

chicometica (T1871:1)