Zayol (MH641v)

Zayol (MH641v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black and white painting of the simplex glyph for the personal name Zayol (from zayolin, referring to a "Fly") is attested here as a man's name. The fly is shown in profile, facing toward the viewer’s right, but it is not flying horizontally. Its head is upward, and its legs and feet are stretched out in front of the bee. Its wings are therefore on the left. They have a hatched or mesh pattern that could suggest transparency.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The gloss for this name is difficult to transcribe. It seems that the scribe began to write a name beginning with a Y. Then perhaps he changed it to a “t.” If Tzaol was meant, that would still need to be changed to Zayol, which is the current interpretation, based on the image of the insect. It is noteworthy how some glyphs provide great detail when representing insects and bugs. See some other examples below. The term for a honey bee, necuzaolin, has parts that are like nectar-fly. One wonders whether it should be written necuzayolin.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

juā tzaol (?)

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Zayol

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
checked, cross-hatched, or mesh
facing upward
profile view
Keywords: 

abejas, insectos, animales, nombres de hombres, Zaol

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

zayol(in), fly, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/zayolin
necuzaol(in), honey bee, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/necuzaolin

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Abeja

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 641v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=365&st=image&r=-0.792,...

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: 
See Also: 

pipiyolin (Mdz16r)

Moyotl (MH501r)

azcatl (Mdz5v)

Chapol (MH519r)

chapolin (Mdz32r)