Corn Maiden Fetish by Chad Quandelacy

Hand carved in green turquoise. Direct from the Native American reservations.

The Corn Maiden is a mythological Native American figure believed by some indigenous agricultural tribes to be responsible for the origin of corn (maize)

Corn Maiden figures into a vast number of tribe mythologies, all of which differ slightly depending on the tribe. This much is generally agreed upon across most of the stories:

• Corn Maiden was a young lady who settled down with the tribe in question many years ago.
• Whenever she was around, for some reason the corn storehouses would overflow.
• But, she warned, never try and check out why or how that’s happening.
• She secretly produced grains of corn by rubbing her body. When her secret is discovered, the people, disgusted by her means of producing the food, accuse her of witchcraft.
• She is either killed off, or in some traditions believed to ‘flee’. Her husband follows and she gives him seed corn with detailed explanations for cultivation.