Texochimati (MH537r)

Texochimati (MH537r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Texochimati (perhaps “He Knows Medicine,” attested here as a man’s name) shows a frontal view of a quincunx-shaped flower with a small circle at the center, four petals, the points of what may be four leaves, and one much larger leaf below.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The shape of this flower stands out with its quincunx shape. Many other flowers have a tripartite division in the petals, among other variations. See below for a few four-petalled flowers.

The mati (to know) part of this name suggests that a special type of knowledge or wisdom comes into play in the translation of this name. See other examples of Texochimati glyphs, below. The name can be represented with a flower, perhaps a hallucinogenic flower like the poyomahtli.

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

petro.texochimati

Gloss Normalization:

Pedro Texochimati

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

Syntax:

noun(s)

indefinite "te"

verb

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Education, Knowledge, Wisdom

Flowers

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Plants, Flora

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

symmetry

quincunx or quatrefoil

circle(s) (small, often concentric)

frontal view

Keywords:

flowers, flores, conocimiento, knowledge, education

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

texochi(tl), a medicinal substance, perhaps with enchanting powers, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/texochitl
texochihuiani, someone who enchants others, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/texochihuiani
te- (nonspecific human object prefix), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/te
xochi(tl), flower, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xochitl
mati, to know, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mati

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 537r, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=153&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: