§ 166. Corn, Watanzi—La Flèche and Two Crows mention the following varieties as found among the Omahas: 1. Watan´zi skă, white corn, of two sorts, one of which, watan´zi-kúg¢i, is hard; the other, watan´zi skă proper, is wat'éga, or tender. 2. Watan´zi ʇu, blue corn; one sort is hard and translucent, the other is wat'ega. 3. Watan´zi zi, yellow corn; one sort is hard and translucent, the other is wat'ega. 4. Watan´zi g¢ejé, spotted corn; both sorts are wat'ega; one is covered with gray spots, the other with red spots. 5. Watan´zi ʇú-jide, a "a reddish-blue corn." 6. Watan´zi jíděqti, "very red corn." 7. Watan´zi ígaxúxu, zí kĭ jíde iháhai, ugáai égan, figured corn, on which are yellow and red lines, as if painted. 8. Wa¢ástage, of three sorts, which are the "sweet corn" of the white people; wa¢ástage skă, which is translucent, but not very white; wa¢astage zi, which is wat'ega and yellow, and wa¢astage ʇu, which is wat'ega and blue. All of the above varieties mature in August. Besides these is the Wajút`an-kú¢ě, "that which matures soon," the squaw corn, which first ripens in July.
§ 167. Modes of cooking the corn.—Before corn is boiled the men call it watan´zi sáka, raw corn; the women call all corn that is not boiled "sa¢áge." Watanzi skí¢veě sweet corn, is prepared in the following ways: When the corn is yet in the milk or soft state it is collected and boiled on the cob. This is called "wab¢úga" or "wab¢úga ʇañga," because the corn ear (wahába) is put whole (b¢uga) into the kettle. It is boiled with beans alone, with dried meat alone, with beans and dried meat, or with a buffalo paunch and beans.
Sometimes the sweet corn is simply roasted before it is eaten; then it is known as "watan´zi skí¢ě úhan-bájĭ, sweet corn that is not boiled." Sometimes it is roasted on the ear with the husks on, being placed in the hot embers, then boiled, shelled, and dried in the sun, and afterwards packed away for keeping in parflèche cases. The grain prepared in this manner has a shriveled appearance and a sweet taste, from which the name is derived. It may be boiled for consumption at any time of the year with but little trouble, and its taste closely resembles that of new corn. Sometimes it is boiled, shelled, and dried without being roasted; in this case, as in the preceding one, it is called "watan´zi skí¢ě uhaní, boiled sweet corn." This sweet corn may be boiled with beans alone, or with beans, a buffalo paunch, pumpkins, and dried meat; or with one or more of these articles, when all cannot be had.
They used to make "wa¢ískiskída, corn tied up." When the corn was still juicy they pushed off the grains having milk in them. These were put into a lot of husks, which were tied in a bundle, and that was placed in a kettle to boil. Beans were often mixed with the grains of corn before the whole was placed in the husks. In either case wa¢iskiskida was considered very good food.
Dougherty said, "They also pound the sweet corn into a kind of small hominy, which when boiled into a thick mush, with a proper proportion of the smaller entrails and jerked meat, is held in much estimation." The writer never heard of this.
The corn which is fully ripe is sometimes gathered, shelled, dried, and packed away for future use.
Hominy, wabi´ᴐnude or wanáᴐnudé¢ě, is prepared from hard corn by boiling it in a lye of wood ashes for an hour or two, when the hard exterior skin nearly slips off (náᴐnude). Then it is well washed to get rid of the ashes, and rinsed, by which time the bran is rubbed off (biᴐnúde). When needed for a meal it may be boiled alone or with one or more of the following: Pumpkins, beans, or dried meat. Sometimes an ear of corn is laid before the fire to roast (jé`anhe), instead of being covered with the hot ashes.
Wanin´de or mush is made from the hard ripe corn by beating a few grains at a time between two stones, making a coarse meal. The larger stone is placed on a skin or blanket that the flying fragments may not be lost. This meal is always boiled in water with beans, to which may be added pumpkins, a buffalo paunch, or dried meat.
When they wish to make wanin´de-gáskě, or ash-cake, beans are put on to boil, while the corn is pounded in a mortar that is stuck into the ground. When the beans have begun to fall to pieces, but before they are done, they are mixed with the pounded corn, and made into a large cake, which is sometimes over two feet in diameter and four inches thick. This cake is baked in the ashes. Occasionally corn-husks are opened and moistened, and put over the cake before the hot ashes are put on.
At times the cake is made of mush alone, and baked in the ashes with or without the corn husks.