paint; dye; pigment or color (see Molina); often referring to the color red (see Sahagún); see also: tlapaltlacuilolli and in tlilli in tlapalli
See an image that represents tlapalli in the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, ed. Stephanie Wood (Eugene, Ore.: Wired Humanities, 2020-present).
tlapalli = red; totlapallo = our redness (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
auh in ichpochtli mochichiuaia tancuic yn icue, ioan yn ivipil: mopotoniaya, tlapaliuitica = and the maidens arrayed themselves; their skirts and shifts were new. They pasted themselves with red feathers. (central Mexico, sixteenth-century)
Tetzon, teizti, teuitzyo, teaoayo, tetentzon, teixquamul, tetzicueuhca, tetlapanca. Quitoznequi: in aquin oncan tlacati tlatocamecayopan, pilpan: ioan nel no motocayotia. teezzo, tetlapallo = Someone's hair, nails, thorns, briers, eyebrows, chip, and silver. This means someone born of nobility, of a noble family. He was also designated as, someone's blood, someone's red ink. (central Mexico, sixteenth-century)
ma ixquich motlapaltzin = a phrase of encouragement, it means, literally, "may it be all your red color," referring to the color of one's cheeks after exerting energy = "make a valiant effort."
amo qujttaz in tlapalli, ca ixtlapal in tlacatiz piltontli = she should not look upon anything red, for the child would be [extended] crosswise when it was to be born (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
eztli tlapalli = blood + dye = a metaphor for offspring (central Mexico, 1634)
chichicoomototl in qujlipia, iehoatl yn ocholli catca, camaquentia, tlauhio, colxaoa: yoan conolchichipitza… Auh in ichpopuchti, tlapaliujtica qujnpotonja, in inmac, ymicxic, yoã qujnxaoaia, ovme qujnpilhuja chapopotli apetztzo, tlaapetzujlli, tlaapetziotilli: necoccampa incamatepa = They bound the cobs of maize in groups of seven; these were the clusters [of cobs of maize]. They wrapped them in red paper, and painted them with liquid rubber; and they sprinkled on them drops of liquid rubber… And they pasted the young girls’ arms and legs with red feathers; they painted their faces, fastening [on them] two [circles of] fish paste flecked with iron pyrites on both sides, on their cheeks. (16th century, Mexico City)
Canpech tlapali quiteytitio queni mochihuaz yn Tlaxcalteca = Los tlaxcalteca fueron a Campeche, a mostrar cómo se hace el tinte (Tlaxcala, 1662–1692)
yn ye mocha ynic machiyotimani coztic tlapalli = segun que mas claramente parece por la pintura de amarillo (Ciudad de México, 1564)
auh ynic machiyotica in xochipalli nitlapali = están señaladas por una pintura (Ciudad de México, 1564)
Kaohtli de chikome tlapalli (El caballo de siete colores). "El hijo menor captura un caballo de siete colores. Viaja y hace proezas gracias a la ayuda del caballo. Le hacen fiestas y lo creen un dios." (Escuchado en Matlapa, S.L.P. Croft, 1957, 318–320.)