Cozan (MH809v)

Cozan (MH809v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Cozan (short for cozantli, which can mean lynx, weasel, or ferret) is attested here as a man’s name. Some even say a cozantli is a snow leopard! (Obviously, the translation requires further work.) The glyph shows a small animal with a textured coat. It is standing on its hind legs, in profile, and facing toward the viewer’s right. Its front legs are raised, and its little tail curls.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This animal does not resemble the cozantli (lynx or snow leopard) in the Codex Mendoza (see below). The cozatli adds two more possibilities. Given the propensity for the letter “n” to drop or be intrusive, it is difficult to say whether this animal is a cozatli or a cozantli. Weasels do still exist in Mexico, but ferrets have died out.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
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: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
dotted, granular, textured
profile view
facing right
Keywords: 

animales, linces, onzas, hurones, comadrejas, nombres de hombres

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

cozan(tli), a lynx, snow leopard, or other small wild animal, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cozantli
coza(tli), weasel or ferret, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cozatli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

posiblemente, Lince o Comadreja

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 809v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=693st=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: 
"ç" for z or tz
intrusive "n"
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

cozantli (Mdz46r)