The symbol used to represent the goddess Atira in the Pawnee Hako ceremony
The Pawnee Butte, home of the Pawnee tribe who worshiped Atira.[1]

Atira (Pawnee atíraʼ [ətíɾəʔ]), literally "our mother" or "Mother (vocative)",[2] is the title of the earth goddess (among others) in the Native American Pawnee tribal culture.[3]

She was the wife of Tirawa, the creator god. Her earthly manifestation is corn, which symbolizes the life that Mother Earth gives.[4][5]

The goddess was revered in a ceremony called Hako.[6][7] 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.[8][9]

Her daughter was Uti Hiata who taught the Pawnee people how to make tools and grow food.[10]

Legacy

References

  1. ^ "Brooklyn Museum: Atira". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  2. ^ Douglas Parks & Lula Pratt, A Dictionary of Skiri Pawnee, University of Nebraska Press, 2008.
  3. ^ Auset, Brandi (2009-01-01). The Goddess Guide: Exploring the Attributes and Correspondences of the Divine Feminine. Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 9780738715513.
  4. ^ Monaghan, Patricia (2009-12-18). Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313349904.
  5. ^ Alexander, Hartley B (1912). "A Pawnee Mystery (Illustrated)". The Open Court. 1912 (7). Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  6. ^ Fletcher, Alice C. (2006). The Hako: A Pawnee Ceremony. Kessinger Publishing, LLC.
  7. ^ Fletcher, Alice Cunningham. "The Hako: a Pawnee ceremony". www.ebooksread.com. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  8. ^ Monaghan
  9. ^ "The Open Court magazine, July 1912, page 385 A Pawnee Mystery by Hartley B. Alexander". Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  10. ^ Monaghan, Patricia (2009-12-31). Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines By Patricia Monaghan page 534. ISBN 9780313349904. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  11. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  12. ^ Greeley, Ronald; Batson, Raymond (2001-11-29). The Compact NASA Atlas of the Solar System. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521806336.
  13. ^ "Brooklyn Museum: Atira". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 2015-11-27.


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