Xiuhnel (MH643r)

Xiuhnel (MH643r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Xiuhnel ("Incapable," "Cloud Serpent" or "Morning Star," here attested as a man's name), shows a group of three leaves. The middle one is horizontal, and the other two come above and below at angles. They all have veins. They face the viewer's right. The leaves apparently represent green herbs, which is one definition for the word xihuitl and would provide a phonetic start to the name Xiuhnel.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

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 some Xiuhnel glyphs may relate to that. But there is also a xiuhnel meaning "incapable," according to A. Wimmer (2004) (included in the Gran Diccionario Náhuatl).

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

poetro xiuhnel

Gloss Normalization: 

Pedro Xiuhnel

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
phonetic dimensions
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as phonogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Celestial Phenomena
Plants, Flora
Religion (Indigenous)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
diagonal or angled
facing right
horizontal
leaf, marquise, pointed oval
profile view
Keywords: 

plantas, hojas, verdes, estrella de la mañana, serpiente de las nubes, incapaz, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

xihui(tl), greens, herbs, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xihuitl-0
nel(li), good, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nelli
Xiuhnel, a name, incapable, the Morning Star, or a Cloud Serpent, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xiuhnel

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Incapaz, La Estrella de la Mañana, o La Serpiente de las Nubes

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 643r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=368&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: 
"t" for d
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Xiuhnel (MH483r)

Xiuhnel (MH485r)

Xiuhnel (MH518r)