Mixcoatl (MH490r)

Mixcoatl (MH490r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Mixcoatl has two principal elements. One, on the left, is a cluster of three small clouds (mixtli). On the right, and seemingly coming swirling out of the clouds, is a coiled serpent. Its head is shown in profile, eye open, looking to the viewer's right. It has spots and a rattler on its tail

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The shape and arrangement of this representation of Mixcoatl emphasizes movement. Might it relate to a whirlwind or tornado coming out of the sky, in the shape of a coiled snake? 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). The Florentine Codex states that Mixcoatl was the only deity of the Chichimeca.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

thomas miscovatl

Gloss Normalization: 

Tomás Mixcoatl

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Heujotzinco, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
deity name/theonym
personal name
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Religion (Indigenous)
Weather, Climate
Cultural Content, Credit: 

José Aguayo-Barragán

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
circle, circular or rounded
spiraling, swirling, coiling, curling
spotted or mottled
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
left to right
Keywords: 

snakes, serpents, serpientes, nubes

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

Mixcoatl, a personal name, also a divine force/deity, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mixcoatl
mix(tli), clouds, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mixtli
coa(tl), snake/serpent, 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 490r, World Digital Library. https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=59&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: 
"th" for t, d, or gd
"v" for u, uh, or hu
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Mixcoatl (MH719r)