Nahuatl words for "crazy" / "loco"

[John B Carlson]

13 Jan 2010

Fellow Nahuatl Listeros,

A friend from Nayarit asked me this question last year. In Classical  
Nahuatl... or in some modern Nahua language... what is the general  
word for "crazy" or "loco" in common speech? I'm talking about  
someone jokingly saying that someone is crazy or "nuts." There must  
be a number of expressions. If we wanted to go deeper, then I expect  
that it would be endless. If we were really asking about words for  
"insane" -- really clinically insane -- then we would get into all of  
the issues of how different cultures deal with mental illness and  
strange behavior. What is strange in one culture or context might or  
might not be in another. That topic could easily "morph" into a  
dissertation...

To keep it simple, are there a few good Nahuatl terms for joking that  
someone is crazy?  nutty?  goofy? I think you know what I mean.

Thanks in advance,

John Carlson

PS:  I confess I have NOT done my homework on this. I haven't gone to  
any of the many dictionaries on my shelf. I figured that some of my  
crazy Nahuatlato colleagues might just have a quick answer or two. 
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