regarding: in nontlan in itzcatlan

[Michael McCafferty]

Quoting Ben Leeming <bleeming at gmail.com>:

> amigos listeros/as,
>
> In Garibay's "Historia de la literatura Náhuatl" he lists the difrasismo
> "in nontlan in itzcatlan" and translates it as "lugar de mudez y frío =
> región de los muertos."  He cites the Colloquios as the source (I don't
> have access right now to the text or else I would check it, although a
> keyword search on Google books didn't return either "nontlan" or
> "itzcatlan"; anyone out there have it handy?).
>
> The question of "nontlan" seems straight forward, from no:n-tli "someone
> mute."  However, I'm struggling with "itzcatlan."  I am assuming that it
> derives from i:tz-tli "obsidian" which in turn is at the root of i:tztic
> "something cold" and i:tztiya "to get cold."  However, I'm wondering about
> the -ca-.  Is this just Andrews' "obsolete noun stem *(ca:)-tl" which he
> states is only found in combined forms?

Hi, Ben

Here's what I see:

no:ntli is a person who can't talk. no:ntlan would be "place of the mute ones"

itzca:tl = something associated with obsidian, and thus cold. itzcatlan 
would be "place of the being of obsidian," or of cold.

Michael


>
> As for the meaning, I get it (and I love it!)  However, has anyone
> encountered this particular difrasismo in any sources other than the
> Colloquios (if it's even there at all)?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ben
>
> --
> Ben Leeming
> PhD Student
> Department of Anthropology
> University at Albany, SUNY
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