Xiuhnel (MH631v)

Xiuhnel (MH631v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Xiuhnel ("Incapable," "Cloud Serpent," or "Morning Star") shows a group of what is presumably turquoise (xihuitl) tesserae, pieces that would be used in mosaics. There are eight pieces, all of them small squares or rectangles. The xihuitl serves as a phonetic indicator for the start of the name (Xiuh-).To the left of the mosaic pieces is a human hand grasping a writing implement that is pointing at the tesserae. Its role in the interpretation of this glyph remains to be seen.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The small rectangular shapes of this glyph are likely turquoise pieces of the type that were used in mosaics (tesserae). Some MH examples of the name Xiuhnel have turquoise-blue coloring which supports this interpretation for the lot of them. For extensive examples of turquoise tesserae, see the appendices of Conceptualization of 'Xihuitl' (2008), by Matzumi Izeki. This collection also includes an iconographic example of turquoise (xihuitl) that shows pieces of the stone made into a small, round mosaic (below).

For some excellent examples of turquoise mosaics from Mexico that are in the British Museum, see Elizabeth M. Carmichael, Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico (London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1970) and Colin McEwan et al, Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico (Durham: Duke University Press, 2006).

At first glance the name Xiuhnel appears to be a compound of xihuitl (turquoise) and nelli (true). James Lockhart suggests that -nel-, when in combinations, could lose that meaning, as noted in the OND under the term nelli. But there is a xiuhnel meaning "incapable" according to Wimmer 2004 (included in the Gran Diccionario Náhuatl). Perhaps more appealing for a person's name is the one provided by a human origin story written in Nahuatl in 1558. In that story Xiuhnel was a cloud serpent, according to an article by Willard Gingerich. Some also say Xiuhnel is the morning star. If so, then the rectangular shapes may relate to that.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

pablo
xiuhnel

Gloss Normalization: 

Pablo Xiuhnel

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
Syntax: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Shapes and Perspectives: 
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
Keywords: 

turquesa, teselas, estrellas, mosaics, mosaicos, estrella de la mañana, rectángulos, cuadros, serpiente de las nubes, incapaz, nombres de hombres, hands, manos, writing, escribir, escribiendo

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 
Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Incapaz, La Estrella de la Mañana, o La Serpiente de las Nubes

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 631r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=345st=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: