huilana (MH497v)

huilana (MH497v)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

The image for this element, the verb huilana, to drag, is shared with the compound Tepehuilan, which refers to a hill or mountain (tepetl) that is being dragged. The act of dragging involves a rope or cord (probably a mecatl), which is shown here running along in front of the mountain. The rope or cord seems to be twisted.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

If it seems unusual to think of hills or mountains being dragged or moved, I remember a story from a small town in the Mixteca, Magdalena Peñasco, which is next to a peak. Oral tradition there says that the peak used to be bigger, but it broke, and part of it went to the coast.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Syntax: 
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Keywords: 

arrastrar, drag, dragging, pulling, pull, jalar

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

huilana, to go along dragging or crawling on all fours, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/huilana

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

arrastrar

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 497v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=74&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).