Do you know where the corn comes from?

Posted on 07 mar 2008

Corn makes a difference in the products we use, but many of us don’t realize just how corn affects our daily lives. Corn components can be found in thousands of products – food, drugs, cosmetics and cleansers. There are many legends about corn.

For Indian people maize is a special gift from Great Spirit. Many of Native American Indian Legends were known by American poet Longfellow. Longfellow has written his famous work "The Song of Hiawatha". The main character of this poem is Hiawatha, the Indians chieftain. He had a fight with Mondamin after what he gains the struggle. Mondamin is the Spirit of grain that was send by God. After the Mondamin death, Hiawatha fulfilled the last his favour: to take care of his grave. Later Hiawatha remarked that on Mondamin grave has grown a wonderful plant. The plant silk and leafs were alike the Mondamin’s hair and garments. In this way the God messenger turned back on the earth but now he was alike a plant. Indians called corn "saint maize", because it represented the plenty of the land.

The Indian tribes worshiped the god of rain, at the Temple of Agriculture and Sun in order to encourage adequate moisture for their corn crops. The Rain God was depicted also with a corn stem in his hands. He was associated with the life giving rain needed for agriculture. And they worshipped the corn goddess, Selonen at numerous ceremonies. These important ceremonies were made in order to thanks the spirits for the harvest. None of the new corn could be eaten before the ceremony, which involves rituals of purification and forgiveness and a variety of dances.

Once the Aztecs harvested the corn, they prepared it in a familiar way. The Indians soaked the grains overnight in a large pot of water with ashes or pieces of lime. Then the next day, the kernels, or nixtamal, were cooked until boiling, and then drained of water. Next the Aztecs ground the corn on a flat stone (metate) with a longer, rock "rolling-pin" (mano). The resulting mush would be formed and flattened and baked into tortillas on a small clay griddle called a comal. The Aztecs taught their children to revere corn and ritualized their consumption. Adults gave their children ate half a tortilla per day. When they reached six years of age, children were allowed one and a half per day. Finally, when they reached thirteen, they could eat two tortillas per day.

The most popular use of corn in Europe is still the tortilla. Often people use corn instead of bread. From corn kernel is made pop corn, sugar, edible oil, sweetmeats, but from Corn leaf is made paper, bags, hats and other objects.

Field corn is the predominant corn type grown in Moldova, and it is primarily used for animal feed. From the corn syrup in your soda pop to the corn starch that makes your paper more printable – corn is all around you!