Mixcoatl (MH485r)

Mixcoatl (MH485r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This compound glyph drawn with black lines represents the personal name Mixcoatl. It shows a cluster of clouds (mixtli) as though emerging from the back of a serpent (coatl). The clouds have a spiky texturing at the base of each one. The serpent is shown in profile, with its head looking to the viewer's right and its forked tongue protruding. Its spotted body is partly curled, and its tail (with vague rattles) points to the left.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Cloud Serpent was a popular name for Nahua men, especially notable in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco. According to Sahagún, it was a divine force among the Chichimecs, and carried a powerful significance for the Nahuas. Some scholars have seen it as a divinity associated with hunting, others as part of a Tlaloc complex (of clouds, rain, lightning, etc.), and others as a symbol for a whirlwind (remolino).

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

antonio miscovatl

Gloss Normalization: 

Antonio Mixcoatl

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: 
deity name/theonym
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Celestial Phenomena
Religion (Indigenous)
Tongue Protruding/Noticeable
Weather, Climate
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
bifurcated
dotted, granular, textured
segmented
spiky
spiraling, swirling, coiling, curling
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
downward
Keywords: 

nubes, clouds, serpents, serpientes, snakes, cohuatl

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

Mixcoatl, a deity, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mixcoatl
mix(tli), cloud(s), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mixtli
coa(tl), serpent/snake, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/coatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Serpiente de las Nubes

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 485r, 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-SAq 3.0).

Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

mixtli (MH485r)

coatl (MH485r)

Mixcoatl (MH719r)

Mixcoatl (MH689v)