GSM Corn Mother Creation Story

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

An example of a Native traditional Creation Story involving the feminine

creative aspect follows.

Gerlinde

 

 

" Many of the earliest known creation stories are of a Great Mother: a female

giver and nurturer of life, the Goddess of animals, plants, and humans, waters,

earth and sky, " writes author Riane Eisler.[1]

 

This concept of a Great Mother is also reflected in numerous Native creation

stories. An intrinsic respect for women in their society also complements their

belief that the Native Peoples' origin stems from a Woman or Female Spirit(s).

 

Corn was a highly valued staple in the Americas and together with the other

vital crops of beans and squash, the grouping was named the

" Three Sisters, Our Supporters " in accordance with the belief that the plants

also embodied female spirits. Mother Corn Herself, the nurturing Creatrix and

Sustainer, was held in the highest esteem as shown in the following creation

story.

 

 

" Once all living things were in the womb of Mother Earth. Corn Mother caused all

things to have life and start to move toward the surface of the Earth. With Corn

Mother's help, the people were born onto the surface of the Earth, but because

the people did not know how to care for themselves, they started to

wander...Finally the Arikara came to a beautiful land where they found

everything they needed to live. A woman of great beauty came to them and the

Arikara recognized her as the Corn Mother. She stayed with them for many years

and taught them how to live and work on the Earth and how to pray. When she

died, Corn Mother left the people a corn plant as a reminder that her spirit

would always guide and care for them. The Arikara say that the beautiful place

where they learned to live was the valley of the Loup River in Kansas. "

An Arikara story

 

 

Female spirits were also considered integral to daily and ceremonial life. The

Hopi, Cherokee and Arikara, believed in a Corn Mother who gave birth to them and

also created the land that sustained them. Cherokees say they came from the

breast of Corn Mother(Selu, who died so that maize would spring from her body

and give life to the people. The Iroquois believe that they were born from the

mud on the back of the Earth, known as Grandmother Turtle... For the Sioux,

White-Buffalo Calf Woman gave the people the 'Gift of the Pipe and Truth' and

the first mothers of all the Tewa Pueblo people were called Blue Corn Woman,

Summer Mother, White Corn Maiden, and the Winter Mother.[2]

 

 

According to the teachings of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, " It is the Mother Who

created the universe. The Father was just a Witness to the whole show. It is She

That makes it beautiful so that He sees the show, that He becomes the spectator,

because She loves Her creation. " (Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, The Mother, 1980)

 

The Holy Spirit (God the Mother) gives birth to the Creation:

" And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the

deep and the [Holy] Spirit of God [the Mother] was moving over the surface of

the waters. " (Genesis 1:2)

 

" The spiritual understanding and gender preferences in this material is based

upon the teachings of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, who says that the Holy Spirit is

God the Mother. God the Mother is actually very present in the scriptures, where

She is usually called Holy Spirit or Wisdom. According to Shri Mataji God the

Father is the Witness who watches God the Mother do all the work of Creation.

For example, here is John 1:1-5 written according to Shri Mataji's teachings.

You will clearly see God the Mother in it now: "

 

" In the beginning was the Word [the Omkara of the Adi Shakti] and the Word was

with God [God the Father] and the Word was God [God the Mother]. She was in the

beginning with God. All things came into being by Her, and apart from Her

nothing came into being that has come into being. In Her was Life and the Life

was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did

not comprehend it. " (John 1:1-5)

 

" By the Word of the Lord [by the Omkara of the Adi Shakti] the heavens were made

and by the breath of Her mouth, all their Host. " (Psalms 33:6)

http://www.holyspirit-shekinah.org

 

 

The sacredness of Mother Nature and Her provident care of humanity is so

beautifully expressed in the poetry of songs sung and prayers offered to Mother

Earth in the Native tradition:

 

" There are six colours of corn: yellow, white, blue, black, red and speckled.

And each colour stands for a direction: north, south, east, and west, up and

down...White is for the east, where the sun rises, and the blue is for the west.

In a ceremony, when they're about to blow tobacco smoke and incense to the six

directions, they sing the song of corn and growth, and here is one:

 

Ha-o, my mother, ha-o, my mother,

Due west, blue corn ear, my mother,

Due eastward, blooming blue-bird flower,

Decorate our faces, bless us with flowers,

Thus being face-decorated,

Being blessed with flowers,

We shall be delighted, we shall be delighted.

Ha-o, my mother, ha-o, my mother.

Due east, white corn ear, my mother,

Due south, red corn ear,

Due northward, blooming maiden blossom,

Due above, black corn ear, my mother.

Due downward, blooming sunflower,

Due below, sweet corn ear, my mother,

Due upward, blooming, all kinds of flowers. "

Agnes Dill, Isleta Pueblo

 

 

A gentle reminiscence of the age-old ways tugs at the heart as these

recollections of the sacredness of Mother Earth and Her bounty are expressed by

Her grateful children:

 

" But for me, I cannot forget our old ways. Often in summer I rise at

daybreak and steal out to the cornfields, and as I hoe the corn I sing to it, as

we did when I was young. "

Maxiwidiac or Buffalo Bird Woman, Hidatsa, 1921

 

" Before I go out to my field, I sing a song...My cornfield has a prayer...I

offer corn pollen to Mother Earth...I use Corn Pollen to communicate with the

Holy People. "

Ramos Oyenque, San Juan Pueblo, 1995

 

 

References:

[1]Eisler, Riane. The Goddess of Nature and Spirituality. In All Her Names:

Explorations of the Feminine in Divinity.edited by Joseph Campbell and Charles

Muses.HarperSanFrancisco, New York, New York 10022,ISBN 0-06-250629-3 p.5

 

[2]Green, Rayna, The Encyclopaedia of the First Peoples of North America. pp.

49, 97.

 

Green, Rayna. The Encyclopaedia of the First Peoples of North America.1st

Canadian ed. Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2R4, 1999.

ISBN 0-88899-380-3 pp. 49,95,96,97.