Blue Corn Maiden by Gilbert Atencio
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View Hopi Blue Corn Experiment Locations in a larger map
An Experiment in Small Things
Hopi Women Grinding Corn in Arizona
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Send me your address, and I'll mail you 24 seeds of Hopi Blue Dent Flint Corn. For medicine or chips, it's good for both. It costs me about 2 Bucks to do this if you can help O.K., if you can't , .... that's O.K too.
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Please feel free to add your updates by accepting the author invitation I send you . Sometimes I lose the stuff, or forget to keep up , I'm not sure which is at work here.
Blue Corn: Found primarily in the Southwest, blue corn has been a staple food of Native Americans - including the Hopi, Pueblo, Navajo & Zuni tribes - for hundreds of years. Coronado found blue corn & other flour corns during his 1540 expedition into the Southwest.
Blue flour corn, made of primarily soft starches, is used for blue corn flour & cornmeal, and for making blue corn tortillas and blue corn chips. Itís a bit coarser than yellow or white meal, but is somewhat sweeter & nuttier in flavor. It also contains about 20% more protein & up to 50% more iron than other varieties of corn.
Blue Corn & Hopi Indians: Hopi blue corn varieties can range in color from nearly black to a powdery gray color. There are three varieties of the blue corn: "standard" blue (sakwaqa'o), hard blue (huruskwapu), and gray-blue (maasiqa'o). Because of its hard kernels, huruskwapu is most resistant to storage pests and traditionally was the preferred variety for storing. When the grinding was all done by hand, women preferred using maasiqa'o because it is soft and easier to grind but the color was not as vibrant as that of the sakwaqa'o or huruskwapu.
Besides being the backbone of their diet, blue corn represents an essential part of the Hopi culture. It represents the Eastern rising sun, the beginning of life, wisdom & understanding. The Hopi of Arizona use blue corn in the naming ceremonies of infants, who might not receive their name for 6-to-8 months. They believe that blue corn represents a long life; Hopi men ate blue corn before undertaking long journeys because they believe it gives them great strength. To this day, the Hopi believe in the power of blue corn, as demonstrated by their story of creation.
Blue flour corn, made of primarily soft starches, is used for blue corn flour & cornmeal, and for making blue corn tortillas and blue corn chips. Itís a bit coarser than yellow or white meal, but is somewhat sweeter & nuttier in flavor. It also contains about 20% more protein & up to 50% more iron than other varieties of corn.
Blue Corn & Hopi Indians: Hopi blue corn varieties can range in color from nearly black to a powdery gray color. There are three varieties of the blue corn: "standard" blue (sakwaqa'o), hard blue (huruskwapu), and gray-blue (maasiqa'o). Because of its hard kernels, huruskwapu is most resistant to storage pests and traditionally was the preferred variety for storing. When the grinding was all done by hand, women preferred using maasiqa'o because it is soft and easier to grind but the color was not as vibrant as that of the sakwaqa'o or huruskwapu.
Besides being the backbone of their diet, blue corn represents an essential part of the Hopi culture. It represents the Eastern rising sun, the beginning of life, wisdom & understanding. The Hopi of Arizona use blue corn in the naming ceremonies of infants, who might not receive their name for 6-to-8 months. They believe that blue corn represents a long life; Hopi men ate blue corn before undertaking long journeys because they believe it gives them great strength. To this day, the Hopi believe in the power of blue corn, as demonstrated by their story of creation.
- As the Hopi moved from the third to the fourth way of life, Maasawu, the Creator, presented the gift of corn to all those who emerged. The other peoples took the largest ears of corn and Hopis were left with the small blue ear. The Hopis knew that their fourth way of life would be would not be easy, but that overcoming hardships would make them strong. The themes of humility, cooperation and respect became the lifeway of all Hopis.
Kokopelli's Kitchen
Where Seeds Went
View Hopi Blue Corn Experiment Locations in a larger map
Cluster Map
Kernal Heads Sites, and Other Good Stuff
- Carol's Southern Spice
- Sadler & Son Monuments
- Camille Henrot
- Sunny State Products (Bulk Blue Corn Seed)
- Tuthilltown Spirits (Blue Corn Wiskey)
- Monarch Waystation Seed Kit
- Colorado Bob's Solar Oven
- Native Seeds . Org
- Seeds of Change
- Craig's TrailMix
- Forage Oakland
- Whsky Jack's Show Your Garden
- American Indian Policy Blog
- DUWARD DISCUSSION
- Agroecology & Passive Water Harvesting
- Water Diverter or "Harvester"
- The Downtown Art Market
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2009
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April
(26)
- The Last Day of April
- Good with owls but a failure with blue corn
- Peggy Chapman's Garden in Tornado Alley
- Oak leaves are the size of a squirrels ear.
- I now have 8 thriving 4 inch plants.....the one wh...
- Sipapu to all!
- A Bit Carried Away?
- Share Croppin' With Shere
- Sturg Sez
- One Week After the Hail
- Guerneville has sprouts!
- Muddy Ground in Dallas
- Locations of the Seeds
- CT in South Louisiana -
- Water Diverter or "Harvester"
- Share Croppin' With Shere
- Hail Storm on my Blue Corn
- Seafaring Seeds
- " Need to recharge your brain? Step outside "
- Hummingbird moth (sphinx) resting in ice plants du...
- Blue Corn at Lubbock April 11th
- Carol in Lake Charles -
- A Blue Letter Day
- Blue Corn Maiden
- Arrival of Hopi Blue
- Where My Blue Corn was Planted ..... 5 Hills 7 Se...
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1 comment:
OK, I am getting ready for my C-bob Hopi blue corn planting project. I am the Southwest La. corn planter. I already got my sign to identify my project location.
Today I got my baby tiller out to see if it would start after a two year slumber. It wasn't easy but after taking all the screws I could get out out, spraying starter fluid in too many openings, saying a few novenas, cusing, pulling the cord 400 times, I am proud to say I did get it started and I think I can still move. I am not sure about if I will still be able to do that tomorrow.
carol
Still have planting planned for the weekend.
Carol in La.
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