Zacacal (MH814v)

Zacacal (MH814v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph represents the personal name Zacacal, which is literally, “Straw House,” but may intend to refer to a war game involving a bloodied broom. It is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a frontal view of a house (calli). It has a pitched roof that seems to be made of straw (zacatl). Behind and to the left is a frontal view of a plant with five or six blades of grass, which may also clarify the intention of zacatl.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This may well be a compound where the -cal part is phonetic, not referring literally to a house or building, but to the broom made of zacatl that was used in a religious game (zacacalli) with warlike characteristics, as described in Book 2 of the Florentine Codex, folio 68 verso.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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 of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Architecture, Construction, Buildings
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Plants, Flora
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
rectangular
frontal view
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
inherent/internal/merged
downward
Keywords: 

arquitectura, casas, edificios, techos, paja, sangre

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

zacacal(li), a game involving warlike play involving blooded zacate brooms, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/zacacalli
zaca(tl), grasses, hay, straw, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/zacatl
cal(li), house, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/calli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Juego de Guerra con Escoba Sangrentada, o Casa con Techo de Zacate

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 814v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=703&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).

Orthography: 
"ç" for z or tz
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Zacacatl (MH507r)

Zacamol (MH497v)

Zacatilma (MH574r)