Nencacihuatl (MH896v)

This name is very similar to the name that is simply Nenca and to the name Nencihuatl, shown below in a variety of expressions. Both prefixes, Nen- and Nenca-, relate to being useless, doing something in vain, or without profit. The idleness associated with nenca derives from the nemontemi (five extra or “useless” days in the religious divinatory calendar, the tonalpohualli.) The visual expression for these terms that start as Ne-, Nen-, or Nenca- are typically expressed visually as women, often female dolls, or female figurines/sculptures divine forces (nenetl). One additional meaning of nenetl is female genitals, which may appear in one example where a precious greenstone appears on the hip of a female figure (Chalchiuhnene, MH559v), according to a personal communication from Gordon Whittaker in April 2023. The negativity associated with uselessness and its application more to women or female divine forces than to male, may suggest a Nahua prejudice about women, according to Keiko Yoneda. See: Los Mapas de Cuauhtinchan y la historia cartográfica prehispánica (1991), 140.