Nezahual (MH504v)

Nezahual (MH504v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This simplex glyph for the personal name Nezahual ("Ritual Fasting," attested here as a man's name) shows a frontal view of an upright, lidded, ceramic vessel with handles on at least three sides. The pot has shading, which gives is a three-dimensionality.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

It is unclear how the pot relates to fasting (nezahualli) unless it provides food for breaking the fast, or water, or the like, that might be allowed during the fast.

This Nahua name is preceded in the gloss by a Christian first name (Toribio). He may have been named after Toribio de Benavente, also known as Motolinia ("One Who is Poor or Afflicted"). This was the first word he learned in Nahuatl, and he went on to learn the language well. He lived in the monastery in Huejotzingo. Doing a quick search for the name "Toribio" will produce an impressive result.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

doribio
neçahual

Gloss Normalization: 

Toribio Nezahual

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
Syntax: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood and Stephanie Wood

Keywords: 

ceramics, pottery, cerámica, barro, jugs, jars, jarras, fasting, fasts, ayunos, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 
Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Ayuno Ritual

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 
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: