Xolotl (MH812r)
This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Xolotl () is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows the head of a dog in profile, facing toward the viewer’s right. Its mouth is open, showing its sharp teeth. It has three thick black lines of what could be face paint across its face. The ears on this dog are pointed, unlike some that are squared off at the top.
Stephanie Wood
Our Online Nahuatl Dictionary explains the multiple uses of the name and term Xolotl in Nahuatl. But this image aligns most closely with "god of lightning and death, typically depicted as a dog-headed man." The glyphs for Xolotl (below) from the Codex Mendoza have more detail and are colored, but they have black lines on the face.
In this digital collection, face paint or tattooing has ethnic associations, involving Chichimecs, the Otomí, the Tlaxcalteca, and those who were “different” (e.g. the Tlamaca or Tlamanca). Divine forces, such as Ecatl (or Ehecatl) and Xolotl, also have some face paint or tattoos.
Stephanie Wood
1560
Jeff Haskett-Wood
old men, aging, viejos, envejecimiento, dogs, perros, deidades, wrinkled, arrugado,
ancestors, deities, divinities, divinidades, fuerzas divinas, rulers, canines
Xolotl, deity and/or ancestor-ruler, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/Xolotl
xoloitzcuin(tli), the native Mexican (almost) hairless dog, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xoloitzcuintli
xoloch(tic), wrinkled, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xolochtic
Xolotl
Stephanie Wood
Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 812r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=698&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).
