Yaoxel (MH522r)

Yaoxel (MH522r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This compound glyph for the personal name Yaoxel ("Combatant-Dispersal," here attested as a man's name) shows a bird's eye view of a war shield (the usual glyph for yaotl, combatant) that is also a turtle (ayotl), which is something of a homonym (for this combination, see additional examples below). Surrounding this shield-turtle are short curving lines, perhaps suggesting dispersal (and therefore also movement). The idea may have something to do with a military tactic of sending warriors off in different directions.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Sometimes, in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, this name is given as Yaoxelo, which even more clearly is an abbreviated version of the verb xeloa, to distribute, divide, or disperse. For these examples that are worthy of comparison, see the Gran Diccioario Náhuatl, https://tlachia.iib.unam.mx/glifos/yaoxelo.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

garisto yaoxel

Gloss Normalization: 

Calixto Yaoxel

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzinco, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
verb
visible movement
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Movement
Names (personal and/or theonym)
War or Conflict
Weapons, Shields, Armor
Cultural Content, Credit: 

José Aguayo-Barragan, Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
curving, curvy, curved
cross (x)
bird's eye view
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
outward (from inside out)
Keywords: 

turtles, torgugas, shields, escudos, rodelas, dispersal, dispersión, combatientes, guerra, nombres de hombres

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

yao(tl), combatant, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/yaotl
xeloa, to divide, distribute, disperse, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xeloa

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Combatiente-Dispersión

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 552r, World Digital Library. https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=183&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: 

Yaotl (MH514r)

Yaotl (MH502r)