Xonoctla (Mdz51r)

Xonoctla (Mdz51r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This compound glyph for the place name Xonoctlan has two principal elements. At the top are three trunks or branches representing the xonotl) tree. The multicolored, anthropomorphized, dog-like head below the tree appears to be a phonetic reinforcement, intending to elicit the divine force or deity name, Xolotl, a near homophone. The locative suffix (-tla, -tlah, or -tlan, if the final "n" has been inadvertently dropped) is not shown visually. Representations of Xolotl often have sharp teeth and wrinkled faces, recalling the xoloitzcuintli, native Mexican dog.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

One wonders whether the "c" in Xonoctla should be there, if the place name is mainly intending to speak of a place known for the xonotl tree. Sometimes the spelling is Xonotla. See The Essential Codex Mendoza, eds. Frances F. Berdan and Patricia Rieff Anawalt, 1997, p. 128.

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.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

xonoctla. puo

Gloss Normalization: 

Xonoctla, pueblo

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
deity name/theonym
homophony, rebus
phonetic dimensions
place name
Syntax: 
locative (not visual)
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Face Paint or Tattoos
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Names (places)
Plants, Flora
Religion (Indigenous)
Socio-Political Units, Cities, Towns, Neighborhoods
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Shapes and Perspectives: 
tripartite
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
3
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
undetermined as yet
Keywords: 

trees, árboles, deities, deidades, dogs, perros

Museum & Rare Book Comparisons: 
Museum/Rare Book Notes: 

This photo of the xoloitzcuintli is hosted by Flickr, and Google marks it as having Creative Commons rights.

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

xono(tl), a type of tree, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xonotl
Xolo(tl), god of lightning and death, typically depicted as a dog-headed man, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/Xolotl
xoloitzcuin(tli), a native Mexican (almost) hairless dog, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xoloitzcuintli
-tla (locative suffix), place of abundance of, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tla-1
-tlan (locative suffix), place, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlan

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 51 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 112 of 118.

Image Source, Rights: 

The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).

See Also: 

Xolotl (Mdz51r)

Xolotl (Mdz13v)

xonotl (Mdz51r)