Xiuhtli (MH577r)
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.
Stephanie Wood
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).
Stephanie Wood
fraco. xiuhtli
Francisco Xiuhtli
Stephanie Wood
1560
Jeff Haskett-Wood
years, años, comets, cometas, nombres, muchachos, hijos, siglos, ciclos, tiempo, xiuhpohualli, turquesa, xihuitl, nombres de hombres
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
El Cometa
Stephanie Wood
Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 577r, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=233&st=image
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).
