Colorado Bob's Hopi Blue Corn Experiment: Catching Up

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Catching Up

Sorry for not keeping house the past week or so. It was 107 here on Wednesday of last week. Then 105, then 102 ...... Looks like the heat will break on Saturday . Good news, because our heat like this always comes with dry southwest winds. And the 2 together really suck the water out of everything. Got this wonderful set from Kentucky -

Mr. Bob, here are pictures of the two batches of hopi blue surrounded by beans and squash, and the fields of native grasses/wildflowers in front of our not so old Kentucky home back of which resides the corn patch. The first batch survivors of rabbit raiders are tasselling now and the second batch in the foreground are holding their own guarded by Owl, the Intimidator.
Your friends at Windham Wallow
aka, Windham Wallow Wildlife Wefuge (wascally wabbits welcome)

1 comment:

Blonde wino said...: WW

How beautiful...the meadow is stunning. Lovely photos.; July 16, 2009 at 1:20 PM

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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.

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

Colorado Bob's Hopi Blue Corn Experiment

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Catching Up

1 comment:

Hopi Women Grinding Corn in Arizona

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