Atira (goddess)

The symbol used to represent the goddess Atira in the Pawnee Hako ceremony

Atira is the name of the earth goddess in the Native American Pawnee tribal culture.

She was the wife of Tirawa, the creator god. Her earthly manifestation is corn, which symbolizes the life that Mother Earth gives.

The goddess was revered in a ceremony called Hako.[1] The ceremony used an ear of corn (maize) painted blue to represent the sky and white feathers attached to represent a cloud as a symbol of Atira.[2][3]

Her daughter was Uti Hiata who taught the Pawnee people how to make tools and grow food.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Fletcher, Alice C. (2006). The Hako: A Pawnee Ceremony. Kessinger Publishing, LLC.
  2. ↑ Monaghan
  3. ↑ "The Open Court magazine, July 1912, page 385 A Pawnee Mystery by Hartley B. Alexander". Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  4. ↑ Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines By Patricia Monaghan page 534. Books.google.co.uk. 2009-12-31. Retrieved 2012-06-29.

References

Media related to Pawnee at Wikimedia Commons