Xochiteotl (MH619v)

Xochiteotl (MH619v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Xochiteotl (perhapos
"Flower Divinity") is attested here as a man's name. It shows a nenetl, which can mean deity image, doll, female genitals, or stand for the "nen" syllable, with has a negative meaning. It is a frontal view. Protrusions appear on the top of the head of the figurine, something like the neaxtlahualli hairstyle of adult/married Nahua women. It may have a skirt. There are no flowers (xochitl) in this glyph.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

This glyph for Xochiteotl varies considerably from the other ones in this collection. It also provides fairly clear evidence for how the term and glyph for nenetl can represent a divinity (teotl), and not just female dolls or phonetic syllables. Thus, if this is a deity image, then Xochiteotl is further supported as a divine force relating to flowers.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

at^o xochiteutl

Gloss Normalization:

Antonio Xochiteotl

Gloss Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)

Date of Manuscript:

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories:

deity name/theonym

personal name

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

simplex or element as logogram

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Flowers

Gender (male)

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Plants, Flora

Religion (Indigenous Christianity)

Religion (Indigenous)

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

frontal view

Keywords:

flowers, divinities, deidades, divinidades, flores, estatuas, imágenes, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

xochi(tl), flower, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xochitl
teo(tl), divinity, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/teotl

Additional Scholars' Interpretations:

"Flower-Deity" or "Sacred Flower" [H.B. Nicholson, in Mesoamerican Writing Systems, ed. Elizabeth P. Benson (1973), 28.]

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

La Flor-Deidad

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 619v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=321&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).

Orthography:

"u" for o

dropped "n"

Historical Contextualizing Image: