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HARDWOOD FOREST
Women of the Corn
Corn first sprang from the grave
of an Iroquoian woman, emerging from her breasts. Corn is often
represented by a woman in Mohawk and Huron-Wendat mythology and
it was cultivated by women.
As soon as the men had cleared
an area, the women began to work the soil, armed with small hoes.
They then planted corn in mounds of soil, usually followed by
its sister crops, beans and squash. A field could contain thousands
of mounds, since corn accounted for up to 65% of the Iroquoian
diet. The first green corn harvest took place in August for the
Mohawk, and like sowing and the fall harvest, it was an occasion
for many feasts and ceremonies. However, soil exhaustion and
lack of firewood forced villages to relocate periodically, approximately
once every 15 years.
Called Indian corn by the Europeans, corn (or maize) originates
from America. The Aboriginal peoples developed many different
varieties, at least five of which were cultivated by the Mohawk:
one variety of flint or "soup" corn, two of starchy
or "bread" corn, one sweet corn variety and one popcorn
variety. Corn was often exchanged for furs from the North. It
was introduced into the north-eastern portion of the continent
some 3,000 years ago.
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