Table of Contents
The religious beliefs of the
Pawnee Native American tribe stand out as practices that are primarily Astro-theological
and astronomical. As such they use or interpret the laws or culture of the stars
to determine when it was safe to plant corn. Accurate calculation of these laws
or cultures means a better harvest for the people. They were possible because
Tirawa was their causer, teacher, and sustainer.
Corn is an essential crop that
is not only a means of subsistence living for the Pawnee, but it is also a symbolic
mother through her, and with her, the sun goddess, Shakuru blesses the people.
The Pawnee
The Pawnee are a North
American Indian tribe who originally lived in Nebraska and northern Kansas
before finally settling in today’s Oklahoma. Linguistically, they belong to the
Caddoan family and call themselves the Chatiks si chatiks, meaning “Men
of Men.”
As with many Native American
Indian tribes, the Pawnee dwelled as agrarians and hunters while living in
South Platte Rivers.
The Pawnee tribe was composed
of a few independent bands, namely:
- Cawi, Chaui, Chawi, or Tsawi,
meaning “People in the Middle” are also known as “Grand Pawnee.”
- Pitahawirata or Pitahauirata,
a name that comes from Pita (‘man’) and Rata (‘screaming’),
meaning ‘People Downstream’ or ‘Man going East’ but the French referred to them
as “Tapage Pawnee” meaning ‘Screaming Pawnee’ and the English Americans
called them ‘noisy Pawnee.’
- Kitkahaki or Kitkehaxki,
meaning ‘Little Muddy Bottom Village’ or ‘Little Earth Lodge Village.’ However,
they are mostly referred to as Republican Pawnee.
- Skiri called
themselves Ckirihki Kuuruuriki, meaning ‘Look like Wolves People’ but
the South Bands called them Ckiiri, meaning ‘Wolf People.’
Two practices make the Pawnee traditional
religion stand out: Astro-theology and astronomy. They believe in the stars and
consider some stars as divinities but not creators, that are worthy of offering
sacrifices and entreaties, on the one hand, and study the stars, their
appearances, occurrences, locations, and laws, on the other which give
theological meaning to the sacral significance of the holy corn.
The Holy Corn
The Pawnee women are versatile
in corn cultivation. They were known to plant a wide variety of corn, such as flint
corn and flour corn. The crown of their corn cultivation was a breed they
called ‘Wonderful’ or ‘Holy Corn’ used to replace the corn in the sacred
bundles kept for the seasons of winter and summer.
The cyclical nature of corn
cultivation helped them forecast their yearly agricultural cycle since corn was
the first crop to be planted and harvested.
The different corn colours,
namely white, black, yellow, red, and (spotted, which are not on the list) are linked
with the colours of the four semi-cardinal points representing the four major
star gods.
Tirawa and the Stars
The Pawnee Astro-theology is considered
with their ‘settings in life’ put into perspective.
Atias Tirawa, meaning ‘Our
Father Above’ or ‘Great Spirit’ was the creator god who taught the Pawnee how
to hunt, build, tattoo, cultivate, make clothing, do religious rituals, and
practically everything. Tirawa was believed to have caused celestial and
natural phenomena, such as wind, lightning, rain, thunder, stars, and planets. His
wife was called Atira, meaning ‘Mother Corn,’ the earth goddess.
The Pawnee have a strong
belief in the activities of the Morning and Evening Stars whose mating gave
birth to the first Pawnee woman while the mating of the Moon (Pah) and Sun (Shakuru)
gave birth to the first Pawnee man. They attributed their being to Tirawa who
holds their being, and through his plan helped in bringing the first humans
into being.
Up until the 19th
century, the Pawnee offered captive girls to the Morning Star as ritual
sacrifices to ensure that their lands remained productive, bumper harvests for
their crops, and new life and success in wars.
Culture of the Stars
In their traditional way, they
were scientific in reading and interpreting the position of the stars to help
them determine the right time of the season for planting their crops. They not
only read the position of the stars, but they also offered corn to the stars
because they so much believed in the powers of some stars and the science of meteorology.
Also, the Pawnee sought
assistance from several animals in their culture, hence, they believed that
Tirawa gifted miraculous powers to certain animals, and the nahurac, meaning
‘spirit animals’ acted as Tirawa’s messengers, intercessors, and servants.
From above, the Pawnee
believed so much in the stars, moon, and sun. These celestial bodies played
important roles in their settings in life. Tirawa was their creator and sustained
them with corn as well as pumpkins, beans, and squashes.
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