Tekawerahkwa
Iroquois · deity · sky woman cosmogony · Recorded classification
Daughter of Sky Woman and mother of the rival Twins. Impregnated by the Wind, she died giving birth when the destructive twin Flint forced his way out through her side; from her buried body grew the Three Sisters — maize, beans and squash — making her the source of the staple crops.
Parentage
- mother: Iethinihstén:haDaughter of Sky Woman.Hewitt (1903) (primary)
Children
Domains
- earth and growth
Powers
- Conceive the rival Twins by the Wind and die bearing them
- Give the staple crops from her buried body
Epithets
- Tekawerahkwa Breath of the WindIroquois creation tradition (Sky Woman cycle), per Hewitt, Iroquoian Cosmology (1903) (secondary)
Relations
- mother: Iethinihstén:haDaughter of Sky Woman.Hewitt (1903) (primary)
- mother of: TeharonhiawakoMother of the good twin, Sapling.Hewitt (1903) (primary)
- mother of: TawiskaronMother of the flinty twin, whose violent birth killed her.Hewitt (1903) (primary)
Sources
- existence: Hewitt, Iroquoian Cosmology, BAE 21st Annual Report (1903) (primary); H. M. Converse, Myths and Legends of the New York State Iroquois (1908) (primary)