xictli (Mdz20v)

xictli (Mdz20v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This simplex glyph for xictli (navel, bellybutton, umbilical cord) also doubles as the place name for Xicco. It features an umbilical cord and a navel.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

These anatomical features are drawn in a way that is reminiscent of the features of a cave, creating a parallelism between body and earthly interiors. The red and yellow recall the slit at the bottom of the tepetl from which water can ooze, as we see in the place name glyph Ixicayan. It is also reminiscent of the top of the arm, at the acolli, when the bone protrudes and from which liquid can escape (see Acolhuacan, below, right). See our entry for Xicco for further discussion.

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: 
locative (visual but silent)
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Colors: 
green (dark)
green (light)
red
yellow or golden
Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 20 verso, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 51 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

Original manuscript is held by the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1; used here with the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0)

See Also: 

Xicco (Mdz20v)

Ixicayan (Mdz40r)

Acolhuacan (Mdz21v)

oztotl (Mdz10v)