Xiuhnel (MH496r)

Xiuhnel (MH496r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Xiuhnel (here, attested as a man's name) shows a small branch of a plant, at a diagonal, fairly symmetrical, with three leaves on each side of the sprig, and perhaps some sprigs of grass or perhaps roots at the bottom. This is likely an herb (xihuitl). The -nel part of the name is not shown visually.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The name Xiuhnel was fairly common. In the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, it is often depicted as a group of turquoise (xihuitl) tesserae, bits that were used for making mosaic decorations. Xihuitl could mean turquoise, year, herbs, greens. Here, it clearly refers to a green herb, which could have had medicinal or food value. But all the representations for the name Xiuhnel seems to be phonetic, intending to bring forth "Xiuh-" the root of xihuitl (in all its various translations). This very popular name can mean Cloud Serpent or Morning Star in religious discourse.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

diego
xiuhnel

Gloss Normalization: 

Diego Xiuhnel

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as phonogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Celestial Phenomena
Gender (male)
Health, Medicine
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Personality, Behavior
Plants, Flora
Religion (Indigenous)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood and Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
curving, curvy, curved
diagonal or angled
leaf, marquise, pointed oval
frontal view
roots are visible
symmetry
Keywords: 

herbs, plants, plantas, hierbas, xihuitl, pahtli, patli, incapaz, serpiente de las nubes, incapaz, estrella de la mañana, nombres de hombres, xiuhpohualli, año, turquesa, xihuitl

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

Xiuhnel, name of a cloud serpent or morning star, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xiuhnel
xihui(tl), green, herbs, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xihuitl
nel(li), true, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nelli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Incapaz, La Estrella de la Mañana, o La Serpiente de las Nubes

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 496r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=71&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: 

Xiuhnel (MH483r)

Xiuhnel (MH513r)

Xiuhnel (MH518r)