Children of the Corn Mothers by Shannon Lopez

Children of the Corn Mothers

by Shannon Lopez

My feeble attempt at cleverness as it pertains to the title aside, I must forewarn you that this article may contain a possibly disappointing lack of homicidal children and creepy monsters that “walk between the rows”. Have patience, for I may deliver unto you a grim tale indeed, come All Hallows Eve. Until then, what follows will be a juicy bit of Native American Mythology and social history. Though the “Corn Mother” is a goddess worshipped by many Native American tribes, the primary focus of this article will be the Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest.

Concealed in darkness, buried deep beneath the soil, two sisters were born. They were given each a basket filled with the seeds and the essence of every plant and animal. They were then told to rise up from the earth and give praise to the sun, their father, with song and corn meal. Upon their ascent, the sisters received their names. The first was called Nautsiti, Mother of the Sun Clan and the other Iatiku, Mother of the Corn Clan.

The sisters then took from their baskets and began to seed the earth with corn. When the corn ripened, they learned to harvest and mill the kernels into flour. They then gave shape to the mountains, streams, and trees. Next came the animals as the sisters gave life to the elk, hawk, rabbit, deer, turkey, and all other manner of creatures. Then Corn Mother Iatiku took clay and lumber from her baskets and made for mankind the first homes and religious houses, wherein she taught them to worship and honor the Spirits.

Despite all her benevolence to humanity, it came to pass that the youth no longer respected Corn Mother and went so far as to neglect and insult her. Saddened and dismayed, Corn Mother returned to the Underworld and the people suffered a terrible drought and famine. It was only through the diligent prayer and fasting of a medicine man and his companion that Corn Mother was appeased and rain once again came to her people.

As shown in the Story of Creation, as told by the Acoma Pueblo Indians, the role of women in society is not that of submissive servants nor is it of a domineering tyrant. Gender relations among the Pueblo Indians in general were seen as rather egalitarian. While they each had their own specific roles in society, such as the women who would run the home and raised the children while the men would hunt and go to war, neither were seen as superior. Age was the determining factor in regard to social stratification; the Elders were revered while the young were expected to pay them homage. Failure to pay respect and to dishonor your elders would, as seen in the story of the Corn Mother, lead to terrible consequences; examples being the withholding of spiritual rites to adulthood or refusal to bless a marriage. In all likelihood, they would receive a well-deserved beating.

In contrast to the European model of Patrilineal family descent, in which the family lineage follows the male line, the Acoma Indians, in particular, were Matrilineal and family history was traced back though the mother. Relative to their female counterparts in Europe and Asia, the status of the Acoma women was utterly remarkable. For instance: When a man married he moved in with the family of his wife and was then subject to the rule of the

Corn Dawn Mother by Marti Fenton

Zuni Corn Maiden Kachinas by Alan Lewis

oldest female. The women were masters of the house and everything in it. If a couple were to divorce then it was the man who was turned out of the house and returned to his own maternal home . While we may grin and say, “Isn’t that how it is today?”, remember, this was prior to the advent of Women’s Rights and the almighty divorce lawyer.

Needless to say, the coming of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century would lead to disaster for the Pueblo people. As the brutality suffered by the Native Americans at the hands of the European conquerors is infamous, it should be noted that culture shock befell both sides. When the conquistadors first beheld the Acoma, from their point of view, the men wasted their days hunting (seen as a leisure activity in Europe) while the women dared to wield power that no member of their sex should. As Franciscan missionaries proceeded to ban all worship and totems of the Corn Mother and impose a harsh theocracy as the new system of government, the conquistadors forced the men to work the fields with the women as slaves to the house.

However, in 1680, the various tribes of the Pueblo Indians would unite under a native man named “Pope” and together drove out the Spanish invaders. While the freedom won by the Pueblo Revolt was to only last a short 20 years, the Pueblo Indians managed to prevent the eradication of their faith and to this day, the knowledge and wisdom of the Corn Mother is preserved.

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[For further information regarding the Myths and History of the Pueblo Indians I would highly recommend reading: When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away: Marriage, Sexuality, and Power in New Mexico, 1500-1846 by Ramón A. Gutiérrez or visiting the Pueblo Indian website.]

HOMEMADE CORN TORTILLAS

[from sheknows.com]

Ingredients

• 2 cups masa harina • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1-1/3 cups water

Directions

• In a large bowl, add the masa and the salt, stir to combine. • Add the water and stir to combine.

If the dough is too dry to hold together, add additional water. If it is too wet, add more masa. • Form into balls a bit larger than golf balls. • Prepare a tortilla press by wrapping in plastic wrap or covering with parchment paper.

Place one ball in the center. • Press, rotate and press again until thin (you can also use a rolling pin). • Heat a griddle (or cast iron skillet) to a medium-high heat (about 350 degrees F for electric griddles). • Cook until slightly brown on the bottom (about 30 seconds to a minute) flip and cook on the other side.

Be careful not to overcook

Serve warm, preferably with creamery butter