Before Christopher Columbus's arrival in North America in 1492, corn was raised among the Native Americans throughout North, Central and South America. The Aztec, Inca and Mayans were the first to raise corn. It was the most valuable food for early Native Americans. However, some of these areas had serious difficulties raising food. In Hopi culture, Indians lived in the high desert of northeastern Arizona where water was a very limited resource for agricultural production. In addition, Navajo Indians were not able to eat fresh corn so methods of preservation or drying needed to be developed. They needed to dry corn to store and then grind it by hand when necessary. Grinding corn was one of the adaptive strategies that Native Americans used to protect themselves from starvation. It was not until the 1700s that fresh or sweet corn was developed.
According to the Anasazi, Pueblo, Hopi and Ojibwe people,
the process of grinding corn began with dried corn kernels cut off the cob. In
Hopi culture, the corn was dried on the roof of the house. A mano and matate
were then used to grind the corn. A matate (or metate) is the
large
stone on which the grain is placed. A mano is a smaller stone tool (or rock)
used to grind corn or other grains. It is rolled over the matate to break down
the grains into a powder.
The Ojibwe also used the mano and matate. Years of use slowly etched out a trough in the bottom of matate. The denser the trough, the more frequently the matate had been used. The trough appeared because the small pieces of rock fracture off while corn is ground.
In Anasazi culture, after the corn was ground, the cornmeal was parched in large jars that lay near the fire. Some of the Native American cultures in the Eastern woodlands used wooden bowl or wooden mortars or tree stumps slightly hollowed out with a pestle instead of mano and matate to grind corn. People carved and hollowed out a hardwood log to make a wooden mortar. Some of the pestles were shaped like animals with carved handles. In the Anasazi culture, women spent hours everyday grinding corn into flour using a mano and matate. Thus, even today corn remains vital to Native Americans not only as a source of nutrition but also as an essential part of their traditions and ceremonies. There is even a "Corn Grinding Song."
In Hopi culture, women have responsibility for the household chores and grinding corn is a prominent homemaking skill. The women and girls get together in groups spending hours grinding corn. Girls start grinding corn when they are quite young, making a boast of their full bowls overflowing with the corn they ground. This is part of the socialization process for the young. These days, Hopi women have blenders or flour mills to make cornmeal. However, they still grind corn by hand if it is preparation for ceremonial occasions. Each house has three grinding stones of varying coarseness.
In Hopi culture, white corn is ground down after it is dried and used for prayer offerings. It is also used with mutton to make a hominy stew at ceremonies. Blue corn changes into blue as the kernels dry. It is ground up for blue corn meal. Hopi make PIKI, a ceremonial offering and give PIKI to the children. Red corn is used for parched corn, baked outside in a special skillet with special prayers to the corn mother spirits for delivery of food and happiness. Sweet, yellow corn is baked or roasted overnight in a big pit outside.
Reference:
About Corn - The History of Corn.'' Ohio Corn Growers Association. (1995- 2000) October 10, 2000. - WebSite: http://www.point-and-click.com/corn/about/history.htm
http://www.co.blm.gov/ahc/anasazi.htm BLM Colorado - AHC: Ancestral Pueblos.'' Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office. (21 February 2000) October 10, 2000.
"Corn." Ag in the Classroom. (2000 - 2001) October 10, 2000.``Crow Canyon.'' Arizona State Public Information Network (ASPIN). - WebSite: http://www.agintheclassroom.org/Primary/Lesson/corn.htm
October 10, 2000."FAQ"s About Navajo Reservation Section 3.'' Unofficial Navajo Central Web site. (2000) - WebSite: http://aspin.asu.edu/ces/crowcanyon.html
October 10, 2000. "Grinding Corn." Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. (05 October 2000) - WebSite: http://www.navajocentral.org/faq02c.htm
http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/exhibits/north-south-east-west/Hopi/grinding_corn.html October 10, 2000."Hopi Blue Corn - Outstanding Heirloom Plants." Seeds Blum Home Page. (1997)
October 10, 2000.``Hopi Way - Cloud Dancing.'' (1998) - WebSite: http://www.seedsblum.com/w2_ex7.htm
October 10, 2000."Learning Family in Mille Lacs, MN." Learning Family Network. (1999) - WebSite: http://www.timesoft.com/Hopi/other/q_and_a.htm#10
http://www.learningfamily.net/reiser/2kf/places/009ojibwe/ October 10, 2000."NativeTech: Scenes from the Eastern Woodlands.'' NativeTech: Native American Technology and Art. (1994 -2000)
http://www.nativetech.org/scenes/grindingcorn.html October 10, 2000." Tools of the Ancient Puebloans.
http://nuevaschool.org/Southwest/prepare14.html October 10, 2000."Southwest (culture)."Germantown Elementary School. (August 2000)
http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/southwest.html October 10, 2000.``The Four Nations in Alcoa Hall." Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. (05 October 2000)
http://www.clpgh.org/cmag/bk_issue/1998/mayjun/feat1a.htm October 10, 2000."The Brooklyn Expedition GROSSARY." (1998)
http://brooklynexpedition.org/latin/glossary.html#mano October 10, 2000."(template) The Southwest Indians." Educational Service District 113. (06 September 2000 )
http://www.esd113.wednet.edu/tip/tip97/project2/southwest.html October 10, 2000.Pictures of Indian Corns
http://www.go.com/cimages925760d.jpg&col= WRPhoto of corns
http://germantown.k12.il.us/html/southwest.html Photo of Hopi Blue corn
http://www.seedsblum.com/w2_ex7.htm Pictures of Native Americans grinding corn and nuts (with wooden mortars with pestles)
http://www.nativetech.org/scenes/grindingcorn.html Picture of Mano and Matate
http://www.parktudor.pvt.k12.in.us/Anasazi/afood.htm Pictures of (a girl grinding corn) and (mano and matate)
http://www.learningfamily.net/reiser/9808-greatbrain/980817.html Picture of Mano and Matate (Ojibwe)
http://www.learningfamily.net/reiser/2kf/places/009ojibwe/ Picture of Matate (Anasazi)
http://www.kaibab.org/tr961/sm961315.htm Drawings of Mano and Matate
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/3807/features/watermills.html Picture of Mano and Matate
http://www.swcp.com/~spsvs/anasazi/ruins.html Picture of Corn Grinding Site (Anasazi)
http://faculty.washington.edu/wcalvin/bk6/bk6ch5.htm
Gero, Joan.M. and Conkey, Margaret W. Engendering Archaeology, Women and Prehistory, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1991.
Written By Kozue Takahashi