Xiuhtli (MH577r)

Xiuhtli (MH577r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Xiuhtli (“Comet,” attested here as a man’s name) shows a full view of a comet shooting upward, in the shape of a straight worm, perhaps, with the front of it larger and rounder than the rest. Perhaps this is something of a "head" with a "tail." All around the comet are short black lines suggesting that it radiates light or else, perhaps, it shows movement.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This popular name, Xiuhtli, is linked to the religious calendar of years, because it was a name given to boys born during the time of the binding ceremony at the end of every fifty-two year cycle.

The shape of this comet might be compared with the comet that appears in the Telleriano-Remensis Codex, which is an undulating serpent.

The substitution of xihuitl with xiuhtli may reflect a dialectical variant in the Nahuatl of Huexotzinco, according to a personal communication from Gordon Whittaker (April 2023).

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

fraco. xiuhtli

Gloss Normalization: 

Francisco Xiuhtli

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
Syntax: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Keywords: 

years, años, comets, cometas, nombres, muchachos, hijos, siglos, ciclos, tiempo, xiuhpohualli, turquesa, xihuitl, nombres de hombres

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

Xiuh(tli), boy's name given at end of 52-year calendrical cycle, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xiuhtli
xihui(tl), year or comet, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xihuitl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

El Cometa

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 
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).

Historical Contextualizing Image: