casulla (CST2)

casulla (CST2)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This is a painting of the simplex glyph for a casulla (chasuble) that comes from a page dated 1551 of the Códice Sierra-Texupan. The glyph shows a frontal view of a largely white garment that has a large gold cross on the front and a red border. The fabric has some gray shading that gives it a three dimensionality.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This is a garment that would have been acquired for the clergy of the local church. It cost the community the sizable sum of 57 pesos. This is a fairly rare glyph. For two other examples of robes worn by the clergy, see below. For more on the Codex Sierra, see Kevin Terraciano’s study (2021).

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

ce casulla

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Date of Manuscript: 

1550–1564

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Santa Catalina Texupan, Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca

Syntax: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Other Cultural Influences: 
Keywords: 

ropa eclesiástica, casullas, textiles, iglesia, cura, vicario

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

casulla, a chasuble (religious garment), a loan from Spanish, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/casulla-0

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

una casulla

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Sierra-Texupan, plate 2, page dated 1551. Origin: Santa Catalina Texupan, Mixteca Alta, State of Oaxaca. Kevin Terraciano has published an outstanding study of this manuscript (Codex Sierra, 2021), and in his book he refers to alphabetic and “pictorial” writing, not hieroglyphic writing. We are still counting some of the imagery from this source as hieroglyphic writing, but we are also including examples of “iconography” where the images verge on European style illustrations or scenes showing activities. We have this iconography category so that such images can be fruitfully compared with hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphic writing was evolving as a result of the influence of European illustrations, and even alphabetic writing impacted it. https://bidilaf.buap.mx/objeto.xql?id=48281&busqueda=Texupan&action=search

Image Source, Rights: 

The Biblioteca Digital Lafragua of the Biblioteca Histórica José María Lafragua in Puebla, Mexico, publishes this Códice Sierra-Texupan, 1550–1564 (62pp., 30.7 x 21.8 cm.), referring to it as being in the “Public Domain.” This image is published here under a Creative Commons license, asking that you cite the Biblioteca Digital Lafragua and this Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs.

Historical Contextualizing Image: