Tzicuil (MH835r)

Tzicuil (MH835r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Tzicuil (perhaps “Thin Bodied," or Cicuil, "Ribs," attested here as a man’s name) shows a profile view of a small, naked human in a fetus position but sitting facing the viewer’s right. His knees and elbows are bent, and his back is rounded. His arms are slightly forward. The most prominent feature on this body is the ribs (cicuilli or omicicuilli). Perhaps he is someone who has become very thin (suggesting the verb tzicuilihui).

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Terms for ribs and becoming thin can start with ci- or tzi- apparently. Regardless of the spelling, a semantic and homophonic relationship between these words seems clear. It is also worth noting that there was a revered Tzicuiltzin that perhaps this person was named after. She was a daughter (and the first child) of Quinatzin. She was also the mother of don Francisco Carlos Xoconochtzin. (See: History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca, 1998, 50.)

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

dio. tzicuil

Gloss Normalization: 

Diego Tzicuil

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: 
homophony, rebus
personal name
phonetic possibilities
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Gender (male)
Health, Medicine
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Nudity
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

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

flaco, delgado, costillas, nombres de hombres

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

Tzicuiltzin, a famous name, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tzicuiltzin
tzicuilihui, to become thin, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tzicuilihui
cicuil(li), small body or carcass, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cicuilli
omicicuil(li), rib bones, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/omicicuilli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Delgado

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 835r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=744&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: 
See Also: 

Tzicuil (MH536r)

Tzicuil (MH555r)

Tzicuil (MH555r)