Xilotl (MH507v)

The warrior's hairstyle (see below), with the curving tzontli going off the top of the head, is somewhat reminiscent of the way corn silk bends over from the top of a cob of corn.

That this agricultural product was at the very heart of Nahua culture, a most basic source of sustenance, is reflected in the fact that a female divine force or sacred ancestor was named Xilonen. The particular glyph here attests that Xilotl could be used as a woman's name, but our Online Nahuatl Dictionary provides examples of it as a name used by men and women and from different regions.

The term and name Xilotl is much more common than Elotl in this collection. Perhaps the name Xilotl, which refers to the corn cob that was still forming kernels, was more akin to a new baby (as a metaphor) than Elotl, which had already formed its kernels.