Corn: Our Native Grain
by Linda Pascatore
©1993 The Gobbler: Summer Bounty
Corn is the traditional grain
of this hemisphere. Native Americans from both continents
have used it as their staple grain. It was so important to
their survival that it often took on a spiritual significance.
Many considered it a gift from God, and legends regarding
corn are foundin many native cultures, including the Aztec,
Mayan, Hopi, and our local Iroquois tribes.
American pioneers were introduced
to corn by the Indians, who also taught them planting and cooking
methods. Today corn is still a major crop in the Americas. Corn
is also called maize, from its scientific name Zea Mays. Zea
is from the Greek word for grain; and mays is derived from mayz,
the word for corn in the language of the natives Columbus encountered
in the Greater Antilles. In other parts of the world, the word
corn has traditionally been used to describe the common grain
in any given area. Thus, it could mean wheat, barley, oats,
rice, or rye; all of which are also grasses.
Grains and agriculture are a
relatively new phenomenon in the history of humankind. For the
first two million years of their existence men and women hunted,
fished and gathered wild foods for survival. They followed the
game and the seasons, migrating constantly. However, between
9,000 and 5,000 B.C., a fundamental change took place. People
began to tame wild grasses and cultivate them. These grains
became their primary food. Grains, combined with local vegetables
and beans, and supplemented with game, provided a complete,
balanced diet. Migrations were no longer necessary. For the
first time, people were able to stay in one place. Permanent
settlements were established. Cultivated grains had seeded modern
civilization.
Three agricultural centers arose
around the world during this period, each based on a different
grain. Wheat was first cultivated in the Near East in Mesopotamia,
which became the cradle of Western Civilization. Rice was farmed
in Southwest Asia and resulted in Oriental Civilization. Corn
was developed in Mexico, and eventually was carried throughout
both North and South America. When Europeans came to this hemisphere,
the Native Americans shared with them the corn which was to
become a staple of Colonial agriculture as well.
One way in which corn differs
from all other grasses is in its inability to reproduce itself.
The kernels are covered so tightly by the husks that they can't
be scattered over the ground to seed. Even if an opened ear
fell to the ground, the sprouts would be too close together
to survive. Corn must be planted with space around each seed.
It is totally dependent on man to reproduce. This constituted
a puzzle to scientists searching for the origin of corn. They
could not find any wild grass from which corn was developed.
In the 1960's, they discovered an earlier form of cultivated
corn which had been stored in caves in Tehuacan, Mexico. They
now theorize that the original wild corn plant was a smaller
stalk with one ear at the top. The tassel grew directly out
of this ear. There were fewer kernels on the ear, and each was
covered by its own husk. These kernels were attached loosely
and could easily fall off the cob and reproduce themselves.
This grain probably cross pollinated with other wild grasses
to produce more and larger ears on bigger plants.
Modern corn has many ears along
the stalk, each topped with corn silk, the female part of the
plant. Tassels, the male part, grow on top of the stalk. The
wind blows pollen from the tassel to the silk of a nearby corn
plant. Each pollen grain pollinates the strand of silk to which
it sticks. After fertilization, a kernel of corn will grow at
the end of each silk strand. The corn husk grows, and inside
hundreds of kernels grow into an ear of corn. The silk turns
from a creamy color to dark red to brown. Corn is ready to pick
just before it turns brown. Some ears are left on the stalk
to dry and harden. These are saved for seed corn for the next
year's crop.
Since growing corn depletes
the soil, most Indian tribes used a slash and burn method to
clear new corn fields every few years. However, some tribes
learned to fertilize the soil. The Iroquois placed a fish in
each corn hill and so were able to use the same corn fields.
They did not plow, but cleared the land of any superficial weeds
with tools made from deer antlers. Then they used a digging
stick to make a hole for a few kernels of corn and the fish.
They planted beans around each corn plant. That way, no poles
or trellises were needed because the beans would grow up the
corn stalk. Squash was planted in between the corn hills. This
practice took advantage of the necessary space between the corn
plants. Once the squash plants grew large enough, they would
shade out most other plants and eliminate the need for further
weeding. All three plants could be cultivated together, saving
labor.
These three plants--corn, beans,
and squash--were complementary crops which grew well together
and nourished the soil, unlike monoculture planting which depletes
it. The foods also complemented each other nutritionally. The
corn provided the complex carbohydrates, the squash was rich
in vitamins, and the beans were a good source of protein. All
three foods could be dried and the corn could also be ground
into meal. Thus, these three foods could carry people through
the long winter months. The Indians appreciated the value of
these foods.
The Senecas called corn, beans,
and squash "The Three Sisters", and revered them in ceremonies
and stories (See article on Seneca Language and Legends). It's
comforting to know that in this area of Western New York that
the Senecas inhabited, these foods are still easily grown. Corn
is abundant in the area, and beans and squash are found in almost
every backyard garden. If some natural or man-made disaster
should cripple "the system" for a time, we still have the resources
to survive in much the same way that the Native Americans and
pioneers did several hundred years ago.
Source: "The Story of Corn" by Betty Fussell,"Corn
is Maize" by Aliki
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