The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions

woven from the silks of corn, a belt made from the broad
green blades of the same plant, a tall pointed hat made from
the same kind of material and from the top which waved a
yellow corn tassel. He wore green leggings woven from
kow-e-nuh, the green stringy moss that forms in springs and
ponds. His moccasins were beautifully embroidered with
flowers and butterflies. In his hand he carried an ear of
green corn.
His whole appearance proclaimed him a stranger and as
Kochin-ne-nako gaped in wonder, he spoke to her in a very
pleasing voice asking her what she was doing. She told him
that on account of the cold and drouth, the people of Kushkut-ret
were forced to eat the leaves of the cactus to keep
from starving.
“Here,” said the young man, handing her the ear of green
corn. “Eat this and I will go and bring more that you may
take home with you.”
He left her and soon disappeared going towards the
south. In a short time he returned bringing with him a big
load of green corn. Ko-chin-ne-nako asked him where he
had gathered corn and if it grew near by. “No,” he replied,
“it is from my home far away to the south, where the corn
grows and the flowers bloom all the year around. Would
you not like to accompany me back to my country?” Kochin-ne-nako
replied that his home must be very beautiful,
but that she could not go with him because she was the wife
of Sh-ah-cock. And then she told him of her alliance with
the Spirit of Winter, and admitted that her husband was
very cold and disagreeable and that she did not love him.
The strange young man urged her to go with him to the
warm land of the south, saying that he did not fear Sh-ahcock.
But Ko-chin-ne-nako would not consent. So the
stranger directed her to return to her home with the corn he