Yaocihuatl (MH633v)

Yaocihuatl (MH633v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black & white drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Yaocihuatl (perhaps “Warrior Woman” or "Combative Woman," attested here as a woman’s name) shows a profile view of the head of a woman, looking toward the viewer's right. Below her is a frontal view of a war shield with four black quadrants separated by a white cross. This may be a European shield design.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

Here is another man's name that relates to women. See some additional examples below. With regard to female combatants, while warriors in Nahua culture were usually men, women could participate in some war-related activities. Achichina was a legendary rebellion leader shortly after the Spanish invasion of Mexico. Malintzin carries a shield and sword in some scenes of the Lienzo de Tlaxcala. Women bared their bottoms and threw breast milk at the enemy in the history written and painted by Diego Durán.

Gloss Image:

Source Manuscript:

Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)

Date of Manuscript:

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories:

personal name

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

compound fully logographic

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Anatomy, human body parts

Gender (female)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

War or Conflict

Weapons, Shields, Armor

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

Other Cultural Influences:

Spanish/European

Keywords:

wars, guerras, enemy, enemigos, women warriors, mujeres, guerreras, mujeres combatientes

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

yao(tl), combatant or enemy, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/yaotl
cihua(tl), woman, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cihuatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Guerrera, o Mujer Combatiente

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 633v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=349st=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: