Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Welcome to Fascinating Facts and Tantalizing Trivia

A Hartson Dowd Column

Sept 17, 2006

“GREEN CORN FESTIVAL”

Corn, beans and squash are all vegetables indigenous to North America, and they were first cultivated by Native North Americans.  Before the beginning of the corn harvest, when the corn is still green in the husks, the Iroquois hold three days of religious ceremonies, known as the “Green Corn Festival,” to give thanks to the Creator for the bountiful harvest.  Sacred dances, storytelling and prayers are all part of this traditional celebration.

Many years ago, it was the custom for the Iroquois to build a small ceremonial council fire.  One by one, those participating in the sacred ritual of thanksgiving moved toward the flames, sprinkled dried tobacco leaves on the fire and raised their faces and hands to the sky while murmuring sacred words.  The Seneca Sun Ceremony of Thanksgiving is called by any tribal member who dreams that the rite is necessary for the welfare of the community.  The ceremony begins promptly at noon, when three arrows or three musket shots are fired heavenward to notify the Sun of their intention to address him… The tribal Sun Priest chants his thanksgiving song while he casts by hand from a corn-husk basket, handfuls of native tobacco upon the flames to carry his words upward to the sun. 

Today, the Great Feather Dance, The Skin Dance of Thanksgiving, and the sacred Peachstone betting game are all a part of the three-day festival.  There is a Harvest Ceremony, a one-day celebration held at the end of the corn harvest

Long ago, Iroquoian women gathered the corn, which was roasted or boiled while green; parched and pounded into meal when dry.  Iroquois families ate mush, hominy and corn dumplings.  Corn soup, succotash and popcorn were also a part of their diet.  From dried husks, they made moccasins, masks and dolls.  Corncob fires, nearly smokeless, warmed their teepees and lodges.

Corn is one of the world’s greatest bounties, and we can thank our First Canadians for this delicious vegetable, an important part of our autumn harvest.

We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters,

the beans and the squashes, which give us life.

,,,,,, From a prayer of Thanksgiving.

September 15 - 16, 2006
Agassiz (British Columbia} Fall Fair and Corn Festival.  Come celebrate the 101st Fair at the Agassiz Fairgrounds on Friday afternoon September 15 and all day Saturday, September 16.  http://www.agassizfallfair.ca/  Our theme this year is “Come Kid Around At the Fair”.  Not only is that a fun expression of having a good time, it also relates to the agricultural component of the fair.  Coming to the fair is the perfect way to end the summer.  It’s a place to come together with family and friends, to enjoy good food and entertainment and to “kid around”.

Hartson Sager Dowd

hmdowd@telus.net