#corn maiden

In the Czech lands the last harvested bunch was called “baba”, or bride, brought up from women in the field at the last grain forage, built up, decorated with flowers and dressed in women’s clothing. This last bundle was a source of entertainment, danced with and seated at the table. The grain the fell out of her was sewn the next year.

“According to a briefer account of the Aberdeenshire custom, ‘the last sheaf cut, or “maiden,” is carried home in merry procession by the harvesters. It is then presented to the mistress of the house, who dresses it up to be preserved till the first mare foals. The maiden is then taken down and presented to the mare as its first food. The neglect of this would have untoward effects upon the foal, and disastrous consequences upon farm operations generally for the season.’ In Fifeshire the last handful of corn [i.e., wheat], known as the Maiden, is cut by a young girl and made into the rude figure of a doll, tied with ribbons, by which it is hung on the wall of the farm-kitchen till the next spring. The custom of cutting the Maiden at harvest was also observed in Inverness-shire and Sutherlandshire.”

—J. G. Frazer, Spirits of the Corn & of the Wild, part 1 (The Golden Bough, vol. VII, 1912, p. 162)

Historical example of a European corn dolly in the Horniman Museum, ph. by scholar Ethan Doyle White.

“She came with the seeds of life, teaching us to sow and reap, her tears watering the Earth to bring forth the harvest.”— Traditional telling of the Corn Maiden myth The Corn Maiden is one of the most cherished figures in Native American mythology, particularly among the Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni tribes. She symbolizes sustenance, renewal, and the intimate relationship between humans and the Earth.…

Corn Maidens are one of my favorite things

"'Tis but a thing of straw' They say,

Yet even straw can sturdy be

Plaited into doll like me.

And in the days of long ago

To help the seeds once more grow

I was an offering to the gods.

A very simple way indeed

Of asking them to intercede

That barn and granary o'erflow

At harvest time, with fruit and corn

To fill again Amalthea's horn."

— Minnie Lambeth (1957)

Was meditating on the harvest and Corn Maiden/Mother as the first harvest approaches... 🌽🍞🍎🥖🍯🥐