The Southeast area of the US stretches from the
Mississippi River (W) to the Atlantic coast (E) and from Virginia (N) through
Florida (S). Within this area there are five major cultural groups of Native
American: the Aniyunwiya (or Cherokee), the Choctaw, the Chickasaw, the
Muskogee (or Creek) and the Seminole. These groups became known as the Five
Civilized Tribes because of the way they easily embraced certain aspects of
European-American culture. Those tribes were excellent agriculturalists. Corn
was a mainstay of their lives, which this Choctaw story presents. It also
points out that being different is not a bad thing.
A long time ago, before people cultivated corn and
even knew about it, there was an orphan boy. He didn’t participate in hunting
as other boys from the village. He on the other hand liked playing in the
fields and talking to birds.
One day as he was talking to the birds in the fields,
a crow flew from across the water and landed in front of him, dropping a single
seed at his feet. “Plant it and water it every day. And you will be rewarded.”
The boy did as he was directed. He found a clearing
where he planted the seed, watering it every day. After a few days, a green
shoot poked out of the ground. Then it grew taller and taller until it was a large
plant.
The people from the village laughed at him, “Why are
you wasting your time? You should be helping the men to hunt.” The boy had not deterred
a bit. He continued to care for the plant and he even named it Tanchi, meaning
Corn.
Now golden bobbles began to appear and fruit formed
on the plant. When the boy tasted it, it was the most delicious sweet he had
ever tasted. When he served it to the people of his village, they were amazed
at the sweet taste. They no longer laughed at the boy.
The boy dried some of the sweet seeds and planted
them. With each planting the clearing grew into a green field topped with
golden fruits. When it was time, to reap the harvest, the boy said to his
people, “Remember, Crow brought us the first seed. So we must share some of our
harvest every year with the crows.”
The people did as he said. Every year a patch of the
corn was left in the field for the crows and other birds to share.
Source: The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native
American Folktales by James Bruchac and Joseph Bruchac
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