Ojibway Legend: The Spirit of the Corn

A long time ago, there lived a group of Ojibway people who had a bountiful harvest of corn. So plentiful was this crop that the people became boastful. Their pride and arrogance made them wasteful. So wasteful were they, that they ate more than necessary. They threw good corn to their dogs. Worst of all they left much of their corn to rot in the fields. They allowed their children to use the corn as play things.

After eating all they could, the people would bury the leftovers and then go out hunting. Even though they saw plenty of game they were unable to kill anything. It seemed the game had twice its normal speed and their arrows went every other direction except at its aim. Soon their supplies dwindled and without the fresh meat the people would starve.

Recalling the hidden corn at home, they sent someone after it. Unfortunately mice had eaten all the corn.

Grief came among the people as they saw the man return empty-handed. Many of the people started to ask themselves, “Why are we being punished?” The question stayed with them as they danced and sang.

Among them was one man, who watched how they misused the corn and was very saddened by this. Brooding about their attitudes of greed, selfishness and wastefulness, the man walked into the forest. He could hear the distant sound of the drum and his people singing as they attempted to seek forgiveness from the spirits whom they angered.

As he came to a clearing in the forest, he noticed in the center stood a lodge made of birchbark. Approaching the lodge, he could hear someone moaning as though he was in much pain. Upon entering the lodge, he saw a little man lying on dirty, worn out hides. The little man appeared to be very sick, pale and in much pain.

The little man with a soft-voice said, “I thought, I was their best friend but they continue to insult me by letting their children drag me through mud and dirt, letting the dogs tear me apart and leaving me in fields to rot. This is why they are now in great trouble.”

The old man was feeling quite troubled for he knew now who he was listening to. The sick man continued to talk.

“I am glad that you have come, for you can tell your people how they have mistreated me. There is no longer water in my jug: not one leaf do I wear to protect me. Many weeds grow around me and insects are eating off me. Now go back and tell your people what you have heard. For I am the Spirit of the Corn.”

The old man went home to his people and related what he heard. He told them of the sickly appearance and the living conditions of the Spirit of the Corn. “The spirit of the corn said you have brought him to live in this dreadful condition. Your wastefulness is the cause of the misfortune we are going through.”

Upon hearing the story, the people became aware of their wrongdoing. Immediately they returned home to their unplanted fields. The people sacrificed a dog to the spirit of corn and prepared their fields for planting. The little corn that had not been eaten by the mice was placed in the soil, and the people sang and danced.

Until harvest time the men went out hunting. From that time the people learned not to be so greedy and wasteful.