maitl (Mdz21v)
This element for maitl) (hands) has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Matixco. It shows two upright hands, one left and one right, apparently from the same body, given that the thumbs are both on the inside. They have a terracotta color, but with white fingernails.
Stephanie Wood
It is unusual to see two hands providing the "ma" component of the original compound glyph, and there is not clear reason why they are both present. But we are studying the hands in this collection in some detail, looking for patterns. According to Gordon Whittaker, we should pay attention to the upright hand without an arm attached versus the more horizontal or diagonal arm, which can have readings other than maitl), such as the "ma" of capture, "ana" of grab, or "poloa" of destroy. (Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs, 2021, 104) An association between eyes (from the original compound) and any of these verbs is not obvious, so we will remain for now with the reading of hands.
Stephanie Wood
c. 1541, but by 1553 at the latest
mai(tl), hand or arm, and a measurement, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/maitl
ma(tl), hand or arm, and a measurement, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matl
hands, arms, or a measurement
la mano o el brazo
Stephanie Wood
Codex Mendoza, folio 21 verso, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 53 of 188.
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).
