CMGG entry for syllabogram mi      (This article is part of the Learner's Maya Glyph Guide.)

Variant: flower

TOK.p17.r3.c3

 

                                   

MC                         K&H                 JM.p169.5              TOK.p9.r3.c3               K&H = K&L = 25EMC.1

 

Variant: hand alone

         

MC                     JM

 

Variant: hand holding shell

TOK.p19.r3.c4

 

·    The iconographic origin of this glyph is sometimes described as “hand holding shell” (lost reference).

 

Variant: head

              

TOK.p24.r1.c3                 1695st  

                                           mi

 

                   

1592st                                 MHD.SNC.1&2

MIH

 

·    Features: anthropomorphic head with a hand cradling the chin.

·    Bonn distinguishes two sub-variants:

o 1592st/MIH:

§ A %-sign on the cheek.

§ A lock of hair in the top right.

§ A smaller, but very fancy ear, slightly resembling an obsidian blade.

o 1695st/mi:

§ Three non-touching dots in the shape of a triangle, pointing down, on the cheek.

§ No lock of hair in the top right.

§ A larger, tripartite ear, slightly resembling a syllabogram yu (occupying the entire right side).

Bonn makes a strong distinction between two sub-variants of the head variant – one for mi and one for MIH.

·    TOK.p24.r1.c3 goes for the opposite solution and deliberately combines the different characteristics of 1592st and 1695st into a single glyph (implying that this variation is not significant).

o Furthermore, TOK.p24.r1.c3 is glossed only as mi – a MIH reading is not given.

o In this work, Tokovinine gives no MIH readings at all – not for this head variant, nor for the “flower” and “hand holding shell” variants. This could be just an oversight, as in various lectures (e.g. AT-E1168-lecture6.t0:37:40 and AT-E1168-lecture6.t0:50:25) the “flower” and “hand holding shell” variants are glossed as both mi and MIH.

·    MHD has both examples of the head variant without the %-sign or 3-dot triangle.

 

Variant: squid

MHD.MRF.1&2

 

                                                                                                    

Graham                                  Graham                                  Graham                                           Graham                

YAX Lintel 1 A4                      YAX Lintel 3 D3                     YAX Lintel 5 A2                               YAX Lintel 33 A6 

mi.<xi:WINKIL?>                    mi.<xi:WINKIL?>                   mi.<*xi?:*WINKIL?:*la?>              mi.<xi:WINKIL?>

 

·    This glyph isn’t shown in K&H, K&L, TOK, BMM9, 25EMC.

·    Bonn doesn’t seem to have given it a code.

·    MHD has assigned it the 3-character code MRF.

o A search in MHD on “blcodes contains MRF” gives 28 hits – so, not common, but also not at all rare.

o Importantly, it’s not regionally restricted:

§ YAX (8 hits) and YAX region (1 hit)

§ Various ceramics (7 hits)

§ SCN (Sacchana, 2 hits)

§ AGT, BPK, CNK, CRC, CRN, NAR, PMT, PSD, TIK (1 hit each).

This is more or less the entire Classic Maya world except for the far south-east (e.g. QRG and CPN).

o The preponderance of hits in YAX is because of the name/title Mix Winkil, which was one of the extended names/titles of Yaxuun Bahlam IV.

·    Note the AK’AB-like element in the lower right and the long parallel elements on the top. The former can be seen in the hand variant, and the long parallel elements may correspond in some way to the fingers. So perhaps there is come iconographic connection between the hand variant and the “squid” variant.