Fwd: [Aztlan] Re: On the cactus in the place-name sign for Tenochtitlan

[John F. Schwaller]

On 29 Mar 2006, Janice Lynn Robertson wrote:
>  
> In response to a discussion Re: [Aztlan] Ma, Ic : Eagle and Serpent on 
> the Dresen Codex, David Hixson <aztlandave at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> Finally, remember that "Tenochtitlan" is symbolized in
> the Nahuatl text (which is logographic) by a cactus
> growing out of a rock.  The word itself only refers to
> the cactus (not an eagle or a snake).
> 
> With respect to "Te-noch-titlan," I think it's important to acknowledge 
> that the transcribed place-name refers not to the cactus plant 
> (nohpal-li), but specifically to its fruit (noch-tli). The eagle (an 
> avatar of Huitzilopochtli) cues the reader in this respect: reaching 
> out with one foot, it is about to sink it's big black talons (compare 
> the rendering of obsidian knife elements in other Codex Mendoza 
> place-name signs) into one of the cactus fruits (a.k.a. "fruit of the 
> sun.")  One might infer from this that the raptor is about to pluck and 
> devour the cactus fruit (the snake becomes comparable at this point).
> 
> For more on this subject see: Heyden, Doris. The Eagle, the Cactus, the 
> Rock: The Roots of Mexico-Tenochtitlan's Foundation Myth and Symbol 
> British Archaeological Reports International Series 484. Oxford, 1989.
> 
> I hope this is helpful!
> 
> Janice Lynn Robertson, Ph.D.
> Art History
> 
>