The Story of The Hopi Turquoise Corn Seed
The story of the Hopi Turquoise Corn seed is a story of a seed brought to a new place by people who are closely linked to the corn plant. Thousands of years ago, the Hopi Indians brought the blue corn seed from the borders of Mexico. In Mexico, the seed grew in a more tropical climate. This meant that there was rich soil, plenty of water, and warm temperatures which allowed for a longer growing season. The Hopi Indians brought these seeds with them as they moved to the west and north, finally settling to build a community of agriculture in Arizona. The seed then had to change, adapt itself, and continue to be strong so that it could survive and grow in a very different climate from where it first started.
The story of the Hopi Turquoise Corn seed is a story of a seed brought to a new place by people who are closely linked to the corn plant. Thousands of years ago, the Hopi Indians brought the blue corn seed from the borders of Mexico. In Mexico, the seed grew in a more tropical climate. This meant that there was rich soil, plenty of water, and warm temperatures which allowed for a longer growing season. The Hopi Indians brought these seeds with them as they moved to the west and north, finally settling to build a community of agriculture in Arizona. The seed then had to change, adapt itself, and continue to be strong so that it could survive and grow in a very different climate from where it first started.
The Hopi Story of Origin and the Corn
The Hopi Turquoise corn seed story is closely linked to the story of the people who took care of these seeds. The Hopi peoples tradition requires that they honor mother earth by taking care of her. They believed that they, as people, were “given a sacred quest to walk to the world’s farthest corners, to learn the earth with their feet, and to become one with this new world”. They were given the gift of the corn kernels and they were to spread across the earth in different directions, each to find the place called their “center” where they were to settle, build their communities, and fulfill their duty of taking care of mother earth.
The Hopi Turquoise corn seed story is closely linked to the story of the people who took care of these seeds. The Hopi peoples tradition requires that they honor mother earth by taking care of her. They believed that they, as people, were “given a sacred quest to walk to the world’s farthest corners, to learn the earth with their feet, and to become one with this new world”. They were given the gift of the corn kernels and they were to spread across the earth in different directions, each to find the place called their “center” where they were to settle, build their communities, and fulfill their duty of taking care of mother earth.
They believed that the differing color of corn corresponded to the directions that each of the groups migrated in. Yellow corn represented those who migrated to the north, white corn represented those who migrated to the east, red corn represented those who migrated to the south, and blue corn represented those who migrated to the west. Purple was said to represent above, and sweet corn was to represent below. The Turquoise corn seed was carried to the west by the Hopi Indians who finally found their “center”, and home in Arizona. The people shared knowledge based on thousands of years of observing their world and used this knowledge to adapt the plants and seeds to grow in this very different climate
Adapting the Seeds to the Arizona Climate
You may have seen pictures of corn planted by farmers today. They plant kernels 2-3 inches under the soil. They space the plants 8 inches apart and plant them in rows that are close together. This type of planting works in climates that have a richer soil and receive more rainfall. As previously mentioned, the climate in Arizona is dry and hot. There is water in the spring from the melted snow, but after that, there is no more rainfall until mid summer. Because of this, the Hopi Indians plant the Turquoise Corn seeds in a very different way than white corn is planted. They do not make any changes to the environment to support the growth of the seed. Instead, they let the corn adapt to the climate that exists. They dig down into the ground between 12 and 18” so that the seeds can reach the water in the soil from the melted snow, which is deeper down in the ground. They plant 10-12 kernels in each hole and they space the hole far apart to make sure that each plant has enough water and does not have to compete for the little water left from winter snow. The Turquoise corn seed sends a single strong root down deep into the soil, to search for deep water. This is an adaptation that the blue corn seed has made in order to thrive in the hot and dry environment. After the seeds sprout, the Hopi thin out the smaller plants and leave the stronger, taller plants which they believe will grow better corn not only for the current season, but that this selection will produce new seeds which will be stronger for future crops.
You may have seen pictures of corn planted by farmers today. They plant kernels 2-3 inches under the soil. They space the plants 8 inches apart and plant them in rows that are close together. This type of planting works in climates that have a richer soil and receive more rainfall. As previously mentioned, the climate in Arizona is dry and hot. There is water in the spring from the melted snow, but after that, there is no more rainfall until mid summer. Because of this, the Hopi Indians plant the Turquoise Corn seeds in a very different way than white corn is planted. They do not make any changes to the environment to support the growth of the seed. Instead, they let the corn adapt to the climate that exists. They dig down into the ground between 12 and 18” so that the seeds can reach the water in the soil from the melted snow, which is deeper down in the ground. They plant 10-12 kernels in each hole and they space the hole far apart to make sure that each plant has enough water and does not have to compete for the little water left from winter snow. The Turquoise corn seed sends a single strong root down deep into the soil, to search for deep water. This is an adaptation that the blue corn seed has made in order to thrive in the hot and dry environment. After the seeds sprout, the Hopi thin out the smaller plants and leave the stronger, taller plants which they believe will grow better corn not only for the current season, but that this selection will produce new seeds which will be stronger for future crops.
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Risk of Losing the Turquoise Corn
Corn, and blue corn in particular, is very important to the Hopi people. Indian people categorize foods that we need during our life cycle as weak or strong. They categorize milk as a strong food for babies, but it is considered a weaker food, or a food that is not necessary at all for adults. The Hopi people consider blue corn to be unique in that it is a strong food for people throughout their entire lives. This may be because blue corn has some distinct nutritional and health qualities. Blue corn has 30% more protein than white corn. It is also said to be high in antioxidants that contain anti-inflammatory properties. Blue corn is also easier to digest because it contains much less indigestible starch than yellow corn.
These qualities almost contributed to the end of the story of the Hopi Turquoise corn seed. In the early 1980’s, blue corn became popular because of its nutritional and health properties. The Hopi Indians maintained their traditional ways of planting the blue corn by hand, and tending their crops in the same way. As blue corn became more popular, it became more and more difficult to keep up with the demand. Several factors contributed to this. Blue corn is more difficult to harvest since the stalks of the plants are thicker so it is harder and more time consuming to cut and collect and the Hopi Indians did all of their harvesting by hand. The growing season is also longer and the yield of the crop smaller, making it more expensive to grow blue corn. As the demand increased, there was a shortage of the blue corn seed until the Hopi people took actions to protect their seeds, and all the work they had done to adapt this plant. Today, blue corn continues to be grown in the Southwest, mostly in Arizona and New Mexico. The care which the Hopi people take to continue to protect, adapt, strengthen, and grow blue corn allows the story of the Hopi Turquoise Corn Seed to continue.