Nahuatl Digest, Vol 179, Issue 1

Wed Jun 2 02:34:41 UTC 2010

Tocnihuane'

Once again a contribution from nahuat of Cuetzalan. 

1.       Cozahua' is a verbal particle related to "getting yellow"

2.       Cozahuac means "yellowish"

3.       Firs meaning: talcozahua' (NC=tlalcozahua') => earth that is
getting yellow

4.       Second meaning: talcozahuac (NC=  tlalcozahuac) => earth that is
yellowish

5.       Examples that may aid to understand it: Huitzil-opochtli =
hummingbird that is left-handed; Cuauh-temoc = Eagle that has descendet;
tezcatli-poca = mirror that smokes. 

Niamechyoltlapalohua. 

Tomas Amaya

De: nahuatl-bounces at lists.famsi.org [mailto:nahuatl-bounces at lists.famsi.org]
En nombre de vazquezdiaz at aol.com
Enviado el: Martes, 01 de Junio de 2010 02:26 p.m.
Para: nahuatl at lists.famsi.org
Asunto: Re: [Nahuat-l] Nahuatl Digest, Vol 179, Issue 1

Please help me out with the meaning of the word  TLALCOSAHUA

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Sent: Tue, Jun 1, 2010 10:00 am
Subject: Nahuatl Digest, Vol 179, Issue 1

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Today's Topics:

   1. matlalin - blue, green, blue-green? (Molly Bassett)

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Message: 1

Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 14:01:04 -0400

From: Molly Bassett <mbassett at gsu.edu>

Subject: [Nahuat-l] matlalin - blue, green, blue-green?

To: "Nahuat-l (messages)" <nahuatl at lists.famsi.org>

Message-ID: <E5EA57AC-5330-4020-B31D-B057AE08E470 at gsu.edu>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"

Hi, all.

I'm working on a piece dealing with the significance of colors in  

precontact Central Mexican religious contexts, and I have a question  

about the meaning of ma:tla:lin.

Frances Karttunen follows Molina in defining matlalin as ?the color  

dark green?:  ?This is attested in Z in matlalzahuatl (literally  

?green pox?) and possibly in Matlalpan, although the sense of the  

latter would be obcure from this gloss, which appears to have  

something to do with lowness of sature.  Conceivably it is derived  

instead from tlalpan ?on the ground'" (139).

But Dibble & Anderson translate matlalin as ?blue? in the Florentine,  

which notes that "its name comes from nowhere.  It is the blossom of  

an herb, a blossom.  This matlalin is blue and a little herb-green.   

It is very sound, firm, good, of good appearance, fresh green.  It is  

fresh green, very resh green. . . . / acan quizqui in itoca, xihuitl  

ixochyo, xochitl: inin matlali texotic, ihuan achi quiltic, cenca  

ixtlapalhui, ixchicactic, cualli, cualnezqui, celic, celic,  

celpatic. . . ." (11: 240).

The Badianus Ms. cites matlalxochitl (presumably the xochitl referred  

to in the Florentine?) as an element in a treatment for "heat" in the  

eyes (pl. 14, p. 218).  The footnote for matlalxochitl glosses the  

term as "blue flower" identifies the plant as "the dayflower,  

Commelina, of which a number of species are found on the Mexican  

plateau.  A native variant Nahuatl name for it is matlaliztic.   

Hern?ndez refers to several varieties of matlalxochitl (pp. 383-4),  

but none of the illustrations resembles Commelina; thus the name must  

have been applied to several flowers of blue color" (219-20).

So, two of these three sources relate matlalin to blue; I haven't  

followed up on Hern?ndez yet.  Are there other places I should look  

for more information on matlalin as blue or green?  I realize that  

blue-green functioned as a range or spectrum in precontact  

Mesoamerica, but the discrepancy among these sources has piqued my  

curiosity.

Thanks,

Molly

----------------------------------------------------------

Molly H. Bassett

Assistant Professor, Mesoamerican Religions and Indigenous Traditions

Department of Religious Studies

Georgia State University

1137 34 Peachtree Street NW

Atlanta, GA 30302

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