Defining Humanities
The Humanities covers a wide range of subjects. It can cover art, music, dance, religion, poetry, and the history of cultures. Through the study of humanities people can learn to ask questions, think critically, think creatively, gain insight, provide clarity and understand our world.
When I worked at the Native American Museum in my hometown of Niagara Falls, NY, I learned about Native American history. The museum (which is now relocated) had artifacts and art that represented Native American history as well as the history of the Tuscarora and Iroquois Indians. I always found it amazing how Native Americans embraced their culture and how proud they were to share stories and their history with people. The art displayed had a story behind every piece. Each piece is important to the beliefs the Native Americans.
The one piece of art that stood out to me was a Grandmother Corn sculpture. It depicts a Grandmother looking to the sky with a stalk of corn as part of her body and on the back side of the sculpture is a sun. Just the grace and beauty in the Grandmothers face was amazing to me. Just seeing this sculpture made me want to know the story of Grandmother corn. The sculpture let me know there was a story behind it and it made me ask questions and I found a reason to want to know more. The humanities should make us all want to ask questions and want to know more. This statue represents everything the study of the humanities is supposed to do: ask questions, learn about a culture and the history of a culture. By learning the story of Grandmother Corn I learned to understand Native Americans better.
This sculpture verified to me how important corn is too many Native Americans. Corn is considered sacred to many Native Americans. Native Americans tell a lot of stories about their Ancestors and this Sculpture shows the face of an elderly woman who looked as if she represented one of the many ancestors who influence Native Americans so much.
Grandmother corn or also known as the corn mother was the First Mother to Native Americans. She sacrificed her life to bring food to her two children and her people by asking her husband to kill her and drag her body up and down a clearing after he killed her until her flesh fell from her body and nothing was left. She asked her husband to burn her bones in the center of the field. After a few weeks corn had grown which was her