Ripe Corn Festival

The Ripe Corn Festival is a tradition of the Tsalagi (Cherokee) Native Americans, held annually in early September. The Festival lasts for four days and nights. The holy man tends a sacred fire, and the men dance. Then they have a big feast with lots of corn-- roasted corn, corn tortillas, corn soup, and corn bread.

The festival is a time to thank Mother Earth for providing all foods during the growing season, and acknowledges Selu (pronounced Say-loo), who was the First Woman. In Cherokee mythology, Selu is the goddess of the corn. Her name means "maize" or "corn" in the Cherokee language. Selu's spirit is resurrected with each harvest. You can read the whole Cherokee story of Kana’ti and Selu: The Origin of Game and Corn here.

Agenda:
1. Prayer of thanksgiving
2. Make succotash
3. Make corn husk dolls
1- Prayer of Thanksgiving:
The Ripe corn festival is a thanksgiving festival. At the festival, a chief might say sunrise prayers directed to the 7 sacred directions.

I like this simple Cherokee Prayer of Thanksgiving:

Ga lu lo hi gi ni du da

Sky our grandfather

Nu da wa gi ni li si
Moon our grandmother

E lo hi gi ne tse
Earth our Mother

Ga li e li ga
I am thankful

Si gi ni gé yu
We love each other

O sa li he li ga
We are grateful

—-
Source: Manataka American Indian Council.

2- Make Succotash:
Succotash is a stew of corn and beans. Most all Native Americans make some variety of succotash, using fresh ingredients in the summer and dried in winter, and it was most likely part of the original Thanksgiving meal. 

Now recipes always list lima beans for the beans, but those are not native to North America.

The Cherokee version of succotash often includes pumpkin and meat, and sometimes nuts. The Cherokee recipes I found call for dried limas and a ham hock, cooked together for 3-4 hours. I used frozen limas and bacon instead.

Ingredients

• 2 c. frozen lima beans (or other beans)
• 4 fresh sprigs of thyme
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 slices bacon
• 1 medium-size sweet onion
• small pepper
• 3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 6 ears)
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• salt and pepper

Serves 6-

1- Bring water to a boil, and add the lima beans, the thyme, and 1 whole clove of garlic (I smashed it a little). Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Drain the beans, but save the cooking liquid. Discard the thyme and garlic.

2- Meanwhile, cut the bacon in small pieces, and cook in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove, reserving 2 Tbsp. of bacon drippings in the skillet.

3- Cut the corn off of the cobs. I decided to roast the corn for a few minutes under the broiler.


4- Chop the onion and the pepper (I used a sereno)  and sauté in the hot bacon drippings over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. 

5- Stir in the corn, and cook, stirring often, 6 minutes or until corn is tender. 

6- Stir in the drained lima beans, and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid (or more); cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. 

7- Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with bacon and serve.




3- Make corn husk dolls:

Native American children's toys and dolls are often intentionally made of perishable materials like corn husks, palm leaves, or bundled pine needles; as the child grows up, the toy naturally ages, falls apart, and returns to the earth.







Corn husks (the leaves around the corn cob) are easy to come by, light-weight, and easy to form.

Supplies: Corn on the cob, knife, warm water, scissors, heavy carpet thread, raffia, fabric scraps, needle and thread





1) First strip corn the husks off the corn. In order to preserve large pieces, cut a ring around the bottom of the corncob with a sharp knife, through the husks, 







and remove the leaves one by one.

2) Pick out six large pieces of husk, and dip them in warm water for a few minutes to make them pliable. (If they are very fresh, you can probably skip this step.)

3) Put the six husks into two stacks of three, with the two biggest pieces on the bottom, and the others cupped inside.










4) Arrange the two stacks back-to-back (curving to the outside), with narrow tops together. 

Tie them tightly 2-inches from the top with carpet thread.



















5) Wrap the pointy end part with strips of husk until it is round like a head. 

6) Fold the husks over the head bundle, three to one side and three to the other, trapping the wrapped end part inside. Gather the husks tight below the head, making the face smooth and pretty. Tie at the neck.

7) Arms: Dip 3 long thin pieces of husk in water, tie together at one end, and braid. 









Tie at the other wrist, and insert under the neck.

7) Chest: Pad the chest with husks and tie at the waist with string, raffia, or yarn.

8) Legs: Braid 3 long pieces and tie at both ends. Insert the leg pieces then wrap with raffia to form hips.

9) Clothing: Arrange skirt or jacket. Shape, trim, and pin. Dress with scraps of cloth if you want.