Ozoma (MH485v)

Ozoma (MH485v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of a simplex glyph for the personal name Ozoma ("Monkey") shows a monkey's head in profile, looking to the viewer's right. The hair on its head is standing up and leaning somewhat forward. The animal's eye is open.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The glyph for monkey (ozomatli, apocopated here for the personal name) very typically shows the hair (tzontli) on the top of its head standing up or leaning forward, and sometimes the hair is long and thick, and so very noticeable. Perhaps this portrayal of hair is meant to serve as a phonetic complement for the "zom" in the middle of the root ozoma, given that "tzon-" stands for hair.

The ozomatli is a day sign in the religious divinatory 260-day calendar, the tonalpohualli, so it was given as a name to babies born on its day. Because of colonial edicts to stop using the tonalpohualli as a source for names, one thing that happened is that the companion number was dropped, as is the case here, perhaps as a stopgap measure. number that usually accompanied a day name, which would reduce the sacred nature of the name. See Norma Angélica Castilla Palma, "Las huellas del oficio y lo sagrado en los nombres nahuas de familias y barrios de Cholula," Dimensión Antropológica v. 65 (sept.-dic. 2015), 186.

There was also a divine force or deity named Ozomatli, which, according to Desmond Morris (Monkey, 2013, 41), was "the companion spirit and servant of the god Xochipilli, the deity of music and dance. In paintings it is depicted dressed in malinalli herbs and with white, oval earrings with pointed ends."

This name glyph is attested male, as the man in question has the baptismal name of Pedro. It is not clear if the monkey is meant to have protruding teeth.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

pedro oçoma

Gloss Normalization: 

Pedro Ozoma

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Syntax: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Shapes and Perspectives: 
Keywords: 

monkeys, monos, calendarios, tonalpohualli, días, deidades, deities, divinities, divine forces, ozomatli, nombres de hombres

Museum & Rare Book Comparisons: 
Museum/Rare Book Notes: 

ozoma. One half of a pottery stamp featuring two monkeys. Museo del Templo Mayor. Photograph by Stephanie Wood, 15 February 2023.

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 485v, 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).

Orthography: 
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: