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.[1]

She was the wife of Tirawa, the creator god. Her earthly manifestation is corn, which symbolizes the life that Mother Earth gives.[2][3]

The goddess was revered in a ceremony called Hako.[4][5] 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.[6][7]

Her daughter was Uti Hiata who taught the Pawnee people how to make tools and grow food.[8]

Legacy

Notes

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

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