Chiauhcoatl (MH816r)

Chiauhcoatl (MH816r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Chiauhcoatl (referring to a certain venomous rattlesnake) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a profile view of a coiled serpent facing toward the viewer’s right. It is spotted and has a protruding, bifurcated tongue. Below the serpent and to the right is a swirling, rectangular representation of a whirlpool of water. At the bottom in the center of the glyph are two chevrons that fill the space near the spot where the snake and the step-fret water come together.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

The Chiauh- (or Chiyauh-?) start to the name may refer to a swamp, and therefore this may be a rattlesnake that lives in swamps. On the other hand, the chiayahuitl (swamp, marsh) element is a phonetic indicator for the Chiauh- start to the name and not intend to connect the snake to a swamp. This glyph analysis could benefit from further research.

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

phonetic dimensions

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.

Gender (male)

Landscape Features

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Tongue Protruding/Noticeable

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

spotted or mottled

spiral as rectangular

Keywords:

cohuatl, serpientes, víboras, pantanos, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

chiauhcoa(tl), a certain venomous snake with a rattler tail, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chiauhcoatl
chiyahu(itl), a swamp or a marsh, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/chiyahuitl
xicalcoliuhqui, step-fret coil, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xicalcoliuhqui
coa(tl), serpent, snake, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/coatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Serpiente Venenosa con Cascabeles

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 816r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=706&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).

Orthography:

"v" for u, uh, or hu

Historical Contextualizing Image: