Cihuatequitl (MH625r)

Keiko Yoneida has written about the use of "nenetl" to refer to genitals and "fetiches," especially in relation to the nemontemi days of the calendar. The negative reading of "nenetl" as useless or in vain, she suggests, is patriarchal. [See: Los Mapas de Cuauhtinchan y la historia cartográfica prehispánica (1991), 140.] Here, the glyph for "women's work" could carry that negativity, even if not visual.

Most examples of nenetl glyphs or elements can appear more like dolls or deity sculptures, sometimes female and sometimes male. Nearly always these figurines represent the syllable/phonogram "nen," which is the negative that refers to idleness or low productivity mentioned by Yoneda. The typical iconography of these nenetl figurines includes two squared-off protrusions on the top of the head. Occasionally, these can resemble deity glyphs, such as Cuauhtecolotl or Xolotl (below). Some have asked if these might be stylized representations of the typical Nahua woman's hairstyle, the neaxtlahualli, with the ends of two locks appearing above the forehead, one on each side. There is a precedent for these protrusions on the head found on pre-contact figurines of women. An impressive collection of these appears in the Museo Tomás Medina Villarruel in Tlahuac, CDMX, in photographs by Eduardo Flores. These figurines show women with breasts and skirts, and they can be grinding maize or carrying children. They have the squared-off shapes on the tops of their heads. These figurines do not necessarily cast women in a negative light, at least not visually.