The Mexican myths

National
The corn: cradle of the American culture
The Mexican myths
By: Carlos Damián September 20, 2010
The American tortillas
México.- At the bottom of the hill of Las Cruces, to 800 m on the level of the sea, walk 15 men. José Luis is going by before, the owner of the earthly where go to sow, his mule loads a bundle with corn seed native well selected, offering blessed. The work will be long and heavy as always, in pending pronounced where so only to arrive is difficult, but is breathed a holiday environment between them, they are family and know that together can advance and be protected of the serpent calling mahuaquite, whose poison is fatal, as the poison of the individualism.

"Mano vuelta" call them to the intense collective work that makes possible a plot without money; it is paid with work and is worked to pleasure. In a where all world costs, all has priced and all has owner: where each person works to win and accumulate, the “milpa otomí” is lifted to distribute and share the fruits of a common work in a common territory. Never are they made accounts than what is spent because what is important is to have sufficient native corn to eat palatable all year round.
Upon arriving to the earthly known as "Loma del Quelite ", José Luis makes his offering in the center of the plot and distributes to each companion a grain fist so that it will be the first that sow it. Then each sewer is made responsible for a line and advance little by little, altogether and to the same site. Without doubt is the worse business of the world, but it is the better form of preserving the life in the world.

A Mexican myth
The Totonacapan has three hearts, though kill to it one can born other two to return to be three hearts. In this place were gathered all the gods. God of the Water, God of the Hill, God of the Wind, God of the Corn, and to be gathered all had also to the towns of the Meso-American world. The Gods were realized that must feed to their children, then to be gathered: observed to their around and they did not have anything that to eat, they had to all the peoples with their inhabitants. Were eating all what were finding in the road; however the corn did not exist.

Then by a moment were planning that went to eat. The gods exist, but the children did not know that went to eat after. When they were plotting that to eat, it was them occurred to invite to several personages, but they did not accept. In this process of basic need, invited them to a large youth, was a warrior, spit to him that was obligated to be corn by divine mandate. They explained to him what must happen from the sowing; thresh it, the bent, and the pinch, from threshing until carrying to prepare the cooked corn. Upon trying to convincing continued it abounding in their chat. What is going to him to happen upon boiling the corn with the lime go it to wash, to grind, convert it into tortilla, after cooking in the “comal” went it to eat and after was going to have the man and after was going to …

For this the youth decided with fear is gone to hide in the cliffs. Compelling with this action to the fact that are returned to gather the gods. This occasion invited to a young mallow, and again the process of convincing it of the noble purpose of is corn. Returning to fail, since the girl upon giving to her terror, she was gone to hide in the gullies, in obscure and hidden places. For hers own decision thus were born the mallows, in the ravines. Occurred that by the place of meeting of the gods was happening a child, as candidate to be corn, the gods returned to their important purpose for the indigenous peoples, their nourishment.

They are trying to convincing now a child, these kids still they do not have the power of reflecting their actions, exposed to him what must happen in the process of be corn. To convince it said to him the process of the corn to be food. Upon abounding in their conversation said to him to the child: yourself not you concern we go you to make party, you go to eat chicken, and the child humbly accepted it. Held to the child and carved it, hacked off it, and those hacked off sowed them and to the third day appeared the corn plant. Then to him offering the chicken to feed to those which sowed it. Created their holiday of the corn, and must kill to the child. Were born the plants and gave fruits. As carved to all the child, saw then as the corn grains was dyed of red due to his blood, the bones and teeth were the white corn, and the hair or something else, the black of the corn; the yellow the marrows (…)

Also they left splashed blood bones, by there left those corns “pintos”, from there was born the corn. Therefore each year when is sown corn here in Ixtepec, must be chicken to sow, and we forcibly you to have it to sow, for offering. The old upon counting me the history were saying me that before the land mother was not occupying chemical credit neither nothing, that when you makes holes in with the stick the land, that it is the mother that was bleeding, and therefore there born the corn. All over the foregoing thus it was born the corn. (La Jornada, del campo, p.p. 9-11, July 17, 2010).