Patlan (MH640r)

Patlan (MH640r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Patlan ("He Flies") is attested here as a man's name. It shows a generic bird in flight. The verb would be patlani, to fly, which is apocopated here. The bird's beak is pointed downward and its wings are spread, showing it is in movement.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

patlā

Gloss Normalization: 

Patlan

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: 
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
verb
visual movement
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals: Birds
Feathers
Gender (male)
Movement
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
bird's eye view
facing downward
vertical, upright
Keywords: 

volador, volar, pájaro, bajando, nombres de hombres

Museum & Rare Book Comparisons: 
Museum/Rare Book Notes: 

This image of contemporary “voladores” (flyers) was shot in Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. Four men descend from a square platform at the top of a pole, spinning, and flying in a manner reminiscent of birds. A fifth man stays at the top playing music to accompany the descent. Interpreters have connected this with the four cardinal directions of the Earth. The vertical axis may still be seen as connecting the heavens and the underworld. West Mexican ceramics from pre-contact times suggest that this ritual comes down to the modern day from the ancestors of this region. Photo by S. Wood, 18 April 2025.

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

patlani, to fly, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/patlani

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 640r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=362&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: 
See Also: 

patlanalli (Mdz40r)

Patlan (MH680v)