Xilotl (MH524v)
This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Xilotl (here, attested as a woman's name) shows a frontal view of an upright corn cob (xilotl). It has a base and the husk is still on the maize cob as suggested by a diagonal line that curves from top to bottom. Corn silk comes off the top of the cob and curves toward the viewer's right. The silk has added pink or red coloring, which draws attention to it.
Stephanie Wood
The term and name Xilotl is much more common than Elotl in this collection. Perhaps the name Xilotl, which refers to the corn cob that was still forming kernels, was more akin to a new baby (as a metaphor) than Elotl, which had already formed its kernels.
The the tenderness of the xilotl seems to be indicated by the fact that the ear is still wrapped in the husk (which keeps it from drying out) and the silk (literally, "hair") is still somewhat fluffy. Some warriors wear a hairstyle that involves a tzontli going off the top of the head, somewhat reminiscent of the way corn silk bends over from the top of a cob of corn (see below).
Stephanie Wood
maria xillotl
María Xilotl
Stephanie Wood
1560
Stephanie Wood
maíz, corn, cobs, ears of corn, elotes, mazorcas, corn silk, inflorencia femenina del maíz, nombres de hombres
xilo(tl), tender green maize cob, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xilotl
elotzin(tli), the silk (literally the hair) at the top of the corn cob, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/elotzontli
Mazorca Tierna, Jilote, Elote
Gran Diccionario Náhuatl, citing Durán, https://gdn.iib.unam.mx/diccionario/xilotl/189101
Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 524v, World Digital Library.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=128&st=image
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).
