10/29/2026
Happy Thursday! 🌽🍂
It's been probably 10 years since I've made a corn husk doll. I used to make them every fall, along with all kinds of things from whatever we grew or gathered.
I wasn't planning to film this, but since I got the camera out, I thought I'd share a little folklore/legend!
There's an old Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) legend about why corn husk dolls have no faces. This is the story as I remember it...
Long ago, the Three Sisters — Corn, Beans, and Squash — provided for the people. Each had her own gifts to offer, but Corn wanted to give the children something special.
So she gathered her husks and made a beautiful little doll for the children to play with. She gave the doll a lovely face, and the children adored her.
But the doll soon discovered just how beautiful she was. Whenever she passed a pool of water, she'd stop to admire her reflection. She became so taken with her own beauty that she began neglecting the children she had been made to bring joy to.
Owl noticed and warned her that her beauty was a gift, and she shouldn't become so consumed with admiring herself that she forgot her purpose.
But the doll didn't listen.
A second time, Owl found her admiring herself and warned her again.
Still, she couldn't resist stopping to gaze at her reflection.
When Owl found her doing it a third time, he swooped down and stole her reflection, leaving her without a face.
And that, according to the legend, is why corn husk dolls are made without faces. A reminder that beauty isn't everything, and that our gifts are meant to be shared.
I've always loved these old crafts and the folklore that goes along with them.
It's getting to be that time of year when I find myself tangled up in vines, making baskets, wreaths, and whatever else catches my fancy. 😂
Anyway, here's my first corn husk doll in alot of years. Just me finding and sharing connection and joy with my daughter, with myself...and with you! ❤️
