neaxtlahualli (MH513r)

neaxtlahualli (MH513r)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black line drawing captures an example of iconography, the hairdo that was typical for married Nahua women of the central highlands. A feature of this hairstyle is having the hair tied (sometimes wrapped with a red cord) on each side of the head and arranged so that two points arose to frame the forehead. This arrangement of hair is diagnostic for of the female gender across most Nahua codices. We do not have a gloss to accompany this image of the neaxtlahualli hairstyle, but we are basing our analysis on the definition and description of the hairstyle in early sources.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The one splash of red in this otherwise black and white drawing draws attention to the red tie. (The red here is somewhat purple.) The red tie may be a tochacatl (a red hair tie that is cord-like, or like a candle wick). See the Gran Diccionario Náhuatl.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)

Date of Manuscript:

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Gender (female)

Hair (human or animal)

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

red

Shapes and Perspectives:

facing left

pointed (see also spiky)

profile view

tied, bound, or bundled

Keywords:

cabellos, pelo, mujeres, género, axtlacuilli

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

neaxtlahual(li), woman's hairstyle, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/neaxtlahualli

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 513r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=105&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).