Quetzaltecolotl (MH661v)

Quetzaltecolotl (MH661v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name, Quetzaltecolotl (“Quetzal-Feather Horned Owl”), is attested here as a man’s name (or perhaps a title?). It shows the head of a horned owl in a frontal view. Its eyes are wide open, and its beak is hooked. In place of its horned ears there are two quetzal feather fans. The one on the viewer’s left has five feathers, and the one on the right has four. The feathers are curved slightly. The fans have a triangular base with horizontal stripes.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

It is unclear what meaning this horned owl with quetzal fans might have. The tlacatecolotl (human-horned-owl) had supernatural meanings.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

juā quetzaltecolotl

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Quetzaltecolotl

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)
Writing Features: 
compound fully logographic
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Feathers
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Religion (Indigenous)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
curving, curvy, curved
horizontal
frontal view
striped
triangular
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
downward
Keywords: 

buhos cornudos, plumas, quetzales, abánicos, animales, nombres de hombres

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

quetzal(li), quetzal feathers, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/quetzalli
tecolo(tl), great horned owl, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tecolotl
tlacatecolo(tl), human-horned-owl which, after Christianization, was used for sorcerer, witch, demon, or devil, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlacatecolotl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Buho Cornudo-Quetzal

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 661v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=403&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: