Xochitonal (MH591v)

Xochitonal (MH591v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Xochitonal (“Flower-Sun” or a mythical lizard in Mictlan) is attested here as a man’s name. It shows a frontal view of a circular, anthropomorphic face with short black lines for rays around the edge. Coming up off the upper left region of this circle of small rays is a large, three-part blossom (xochitl).

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

Tonalli can have varied meanings that include sun, day, and a personal animating force that was believed to be located in the head. The positioning of the flower in this glyph may relate to this location.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

diego xochitonal

Gloss Normalization:

Diego Xochitonal

Gloss Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)

Date of Manuscript:

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories:

personal name

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Anatomy, human body parts

Celestial Phenomena

Flowers

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Plants, Flora

Religion (Indigenous Christianity)

Religion (Indigenous)

Weather, Climate

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle, circular or rounded

frontal view

shimmer, vibrance, shine with warmth & movement

tripartite

Other Cultural Influences:

Spanish/European

Keywords:

días, soles, fuerza personal del sol, sun, day, energy, shimmer, flowers, tonal

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

Xochitonal, a personal name and the name of a mythical creature (a lizard) in Mictlan, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xochitonal
xochi(tl), flower, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xochitl
tonal(li), life force, sun, day, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tonalli

Additional Scholars' Interpretations:

James Lockhart (The Nahuas, 1992, 120) says Xochtonal is "Flower Fate," a name that is a poetic metaphor. Cuernavaca region, 1535–1545.

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

La Flor de la Energía Solar

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 591v, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=262&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).

Historical Contextualizing Image: