Xoxocoyol (Verg48v)
This compound Nahuatl hieroglyph is a black-line drawing of the personal name Xoxocoyol (“Sorrel”), the name of a famous Mexica ruler. It is attested here as the name of a macehualli, a tribute payer’s name. The compound includes three elements, beginning at the bottom with a partial leg with a foot, providing the phonetic syllable (-xo-) found at the start of the name. The text of the name is a reduplication (Xoxo-), but the glyph does not reduplicate the -xo- visually. The second element of the compound is a metal bell (coyolli) that is “hanging” upside down. The bell provides the phonetic syllables -coyol- that comprise a significant part of the name. It may also be semantic given that the sorrel plant has bell-shaped flower buds and some of the flowers are bell-shaped, too. Finally, the third element appears at the site of the hole where the sound of the bell’s clapper would escape. If it is indeed intentional, it is a black rubber ball (olli), phonetically complementing the final -ol- of the name.
Stephanie Wood
This is the second example of a compound hieroglyph for the same name in the Codex Vergara. Earlier, the glyph included a plant, whereas this one depends on the foot and a rubber ball. According to ethnobotanist Richard Tan, xocoyoles (as the term has been Hispanized) are "a large class of plants with a characteristic sourness, used to flavor dishes," although they can also be enjoyed by just munching on the leaves when one is out in the field. He says they are also referred to in Spanish as agritos, because of their sour taste. He adds that “[m]any Begonia species are xocoyoles, but many edible Oxalis species are, too." (Personal communication 9 March 2022.) The sour taste (xococ) is also reflected in the name as written or pronounced, but it is not shown visually in either of the hieroglyphs.
Stephanie Wood
franco. xoxocoyol.
Francisco Xoxocoyol
Stephanie Wood
1539
Jeff Haskett-Wood
plantas, alazán, campanilla, campanillas, campana, campanas, cascabel, cascabeles, jingle bells, hule, pelota, pelotas, pierna, pie, nombres de hombres, men’s names, fonetismo
xocoyol(li), sorrel or woodsorrel, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xocoyolli
xoxocoyol(li), sorrel or woodsorrel, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xoxocoyolli
coyol(li), a bell, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/coyolli
xococ, something sour, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xococ
Alazán, Jojocoyol, o Xocoyole
Stephanie Wood
Available at Codex Vergara, folio 48v, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/f104.item.zoom, accessed 25 March 2026. The Vergara is associated with Tepetlaoztoc, in the larger region of Tetzcoco, c. 1539–1543. “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/.
Image Rights: The non-commercial reuse of images from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is free as long as the user is in compliance with the legislation in force and provides the citation: “Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France” or “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/
