Nepancauh (MH679r)

Nepancauh (MH679r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Nepancauh (perhaps “Mutually Abandoned” or "Relinquished Reciprocally”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a nenetl figurine, which provides a phonetic indicator for the start to the name, Ne-. This figure has brackets on either side that curve outwards, seemingly a sign for reciprocity (nepan), which is a semantic logogram for an adverb. The -cauh part of the name (from the verb, cahua, to leave or relinquish) may be shown visually if we are seeing tears coming down from the eyes of the figurine.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Given that nenetl can also refer to women’s genitals, the brackets might also be imagined to be stylized labia. See the other Nepancauh compound below, along with the Quetzalcoatl image and the ball court.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
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: 

reciprocidad, genitales femeninos, abandonar, dejar, separación, mutuo, recíproco, renunciar, muñeca, escultura, deidades, fuerzas divinas, nombres de hombres

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

Dejado Mutuamente

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 679r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=438&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: