Tzilin (MH486r)

The absence of the final "i" on the verb tzilini, may suggest a preterite tense is intended (He Rang?). Or perhaps tzilin was meant as a noun here. This glyph does not visually capture the sound of a bell ringing, which would be really interesting. The autonomous-era type of bell (coyolli) as shown on folio 44 recto of the Codex Mendoza (see below) has little sound scrolls coming out of the bottom. The coyolli (jingle bells) were usually small copper or gold bells, but this one for the verbs tzilini or tzilinia looks more like a church bell, showing Spanish influence. It has a wide mouth and a protruding clapper. The loop at the top does coincide with the loop of some of the coyolli bells, which could hang from jewelry or from a leather thong around ankles, for instance, when danced. Juan José Batalla Rosado (2018, 96) includes the various glyphs related to the verbs tzilini and tzizlinia in his study of visual loans, given that the iconography of these bells has been greatly influenced by exposure to European bells. He also points to the new occupation of bell ringer and its seeming neologisms tlatzilini or tlatziliniani (2018, 97).

This is a personal name, preceded in the gloss by a Christian first name (Toribio). He may have been named after Toribio de Benavente, also known as Motolinia ("One Who is Poor or Afflicted"). This was the first word Motolinia learned in Nahuatl, and he went on to learn the language well. He lived in the monastery in Huejotzingo. Doing a quick search for the name "Toribio" will produce an impressive result.