cuacuahuitl (MH483r)

cuacuahuitl (MH483r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for horns (cuacuahuitl serve as the visual reference to a person's name, Cuacuauh. They are two pointed horns at the top of a person' head. Each one curves in toward the center. The entire glyph is drawn with black lines.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

These appear to be horns of the sort one would find on an ox or a bull (cuacuahu(e)), rather than antlers. The personal name that these horns point to, Cuacuauh, may also be in indirect reference to such an animal, even though the horns have been placed on the man's head. Juan José Batalla Rosado (El Arte de Escribir, 2018, 76) includes the cuacuahuitl ("cuerno de animal") in his list of visual loans. He finds the Matrícula de Huexotzinco to show the greatest degree of Western influence of all colonial codices.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Xitlali Torres

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
curving, curvy, curved
pointed (see also spiky)
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

cuerno, cuernos

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

cuacuahu(itl), horn(s) or antler(s), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cuacuahuitl-2
cuacuahu(e), ox, bull, or other horned animal, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cuacuahue

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 483r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=45&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-SA).

Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Cuacuauh (MH483r)