totolnacatl (FCbk10f58v)

This iconographic example, featuring turkey meat (totolnacatl), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the Nahuatl text near the image in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows a balance or scale with a turkey leg on each side. The contextualizing image shows two men, apparently Spaniards given their clothing. At least one is a nacanamacac (butcher or meat seller), a term that also appears in the text. Given the involvement of Spaniards, the meat here could be chicken rather than turkey. Chicken was the poultry that Spaniards brought over to New Spain, whereas turkey (totolin or huexolotl) was native to the Americas. To differentiate a chicken from a turkey, Nahuas called the chicken hen or cock a caxtil (a loanword, and short for Castilian). But, of course, Spaniards ate the meat of both of these birds, and introduced turkeys into Europe early in the sixteenth century.