Xiuhnel (MH497v)

The small trapezoidal and diamond shapes of this glyph are likely turquoise pieces of the type that were used in mosaics (tesserae). Some MH examples of the name Xiuhnel have turquoise-blue coloring which supports this interpretation for the lot of them. For extensive examples of turquoise tesserae, see the appendices of Conceptualization of 'Xihuitl' (2008), by Matzumi Izeki. This collection also includes an iconographic example of turquoise [xihuitl that shows pieces of the stone made into a small, round mosaic (below).

At first glance the name Xiuhnel appears to be a compound of xihuitl (turquoise) and nelli (true). James Lockhart suggests that -nel-, when in combinations, could lose that meaning, as noted in the OND under the term nelli. According to popular belief, Xiuhnel and Mimich were two of hundreds of Cloud Serpents associated with hunting, promiscuity, and drunkenness. See The Fate of Earthly Things by Molly H. Bassett (2015, 175). The translators of the Primeros Memoriales say that Xiuhnel and Mimich were prominent figures in many migration stories of central Mexican cultures. See the Sullivan and Nicholson edition of the PM (1997, 135). Some also say Xiuhnel is the morning star. If so, then the rectangular shapes in this glyph may relate to that. But there is also a xiuhnel meaning "incapable," according to A. Wimmer (2004) (included in the Gran Diccionario Náhuatl).