Xihuitl Temoc (MH686r)

Xihuitl Temoc (MH686r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Xihuitl Temoc (perhaps “Year Descending,” attested here as a man’s name) shows two descending footprints (for the verb, temoc). Below the footprints appears to be a group of leaves that are possibly tied at the top with a bow. Xihuitl translations include a wide range of possibilities. For example, it can refer to a year, a comet, some turquoise, or a green leaf.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The look of this is similar to the glyphs for Tlepapalotl, but a connection remains somewhat elusive. The diving of a butterfly into a fire that is part of the Tlepapalotl story could have an echo in the descent involved in the footprints in this glyph.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Source Manuscript:

Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)

Date of Manuscript:

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories:

calendrics

personal name

Syntax:

noun(s)

verb

Writing Features:

compound fully logographic

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Footprint(s), human

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Plants, Flora

Time, Calendar, Frequency

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

facing downward

frontal view

shimmer, vibrance, shine with warmth & movement

tied, bound, or bundled

vertical, upright

Keywords:

años, calendarios, hojas verdes, turquesas, cometas, bajar, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

xihui(tl), year or comet, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xihuitl
xihui(tl), leaf, turquoise, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xihuitl-0

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Año Descendiente

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 686r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=452&st=image.

Image Source, Rights:

This manuscript is hosted by the Library of Congress and the World Digital Library; used here with the Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SAq 3.0).

Orthography:

dropped "n"

Historical Contextualizing Image: