Category: NATIVE AMERICANS
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SQUASH
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Squash Lisa Karen Miller There once was a family with three daughters, who were always arguing among themselves and had to be reminded constantly to help their parents. The eldest sister was tall and slender with long, yellow, silky hair. The middle sister was of…
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MESQUITE
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Mesquite Lisa Karen Miller Pima Indians called it the Tree of Life. Across the world in Bahrain, there is a 400-year-old specimen that also bears that name. It lives near the highest point in the country, far from any water source. The Tohono O’odham…
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MAPLE
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Maple Lisa Karen Miller It was once thought that any child who was passed through the middle of a split maple was assured a long life. One specimen in West Grinstead Park in West Sussex, England, was in constant use for this purpose. When its…
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CORN
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Corn Lisa Karen Miller The Maya believed that humans had been fashioned from corn. Mayan mothers would pinch and rub their newborns’ heads to create the shape of an ear of corn. As adults, this enhanced not only their appearance, but their status in the…
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CEDAR
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Cedar Lisa Karen Miller Between 1925 and 2004, an estimated 27 million miniature cedar chests were given to graduating high school girls through The Lane Company’s Girl Graduate Plan. I still have mine. Company lore says that employees started making these as a…
Folklore of Plants 