When the …show more content…
Maize was planted next, in order to use what is known as “three sisters agriculture.” In this method of farming, around five maize seeds were planted in a large mound of soil. After the maize had grown to be a few inches tall, climbing beans and squash would be planted between the mounds in which the corn grew. The squash leaves, because they’re so large, could shade the soil and help retain moisture while the beans helped fix the nitrogen in the soil, while using the corn stalks as support to grow. Women did most of the farming, though men would often help with clearing the …show more content…
In the spring they planted ten varieties of maize, eight varieties of beans, and seven varieties of squashes and pumpkins. Among the various types of maize were flour, flint, and sweet corn. The Pawnee were well aware that the plants would become hybrid if they were to plant the varying types too close together, so they dedicated certain fields to certain strains of the maize.
One particular ritual that this tribe would perform was known as “the morning star ceremony,” in which the human sacrifice was a young girl from an enemy tribe. The ceremony was performed in the spring, but not always with a human sacrifice, but rather a symbolic ceremony. It was performed to celebrate what they believed was the creation of the first human, in which the morning star (male) and the evening star (female) mated. Human sacrifice would only be performed if a man of the tribe dreamt of the morning star, in which it would tell him to perform the proper