Metonymic and Metaphoric Series in the Codex Borgia. Plates 33-34.

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to understand how the metaphoric and metonymic graphic series helped to convey sequences of meanings and how they combined to provide a global interpretation of the content. As well, I will also analyze the relationship between signs with literal/fixed and metaphorical meaning, based on the context where the images are located and their association with other graphic signs. I will take some examples from plates 33 and 34 of the Codex Borgia to explain how the Mixtec-Nahua semasiographic system worked and how the different signs were combined for the transmission of a message, which was not univocal, but which functioned as a tool for the priest to remember and recompose the information contained. At the end of this research, an attempt will be made to provide an interpretation of plates 33 and 34, based on the understanding of the Mixtec-Nahua graphic system. I will try to prove that the apparent "chaos" contained in these plates, in fact serves to emphasize a mental and mythical concept that can be expressed in different ways, in order to provide the priest (tonalpouhque) with a mnemonic tool. The tonalpouhque could use the codex not just to remember information, but also to create new content