¬¬
Leslie Marmon Silko’s book, Ceremony, expresses many issues faced by Native Americans, specifically the Laguna Pueblo people living in New Mexico during the 1940's.
The central character, Tayo, a man with mixed ethnic heritage, survived being a soldier during World War II and suffered from post-traumatic syndrome.
After Tayo falsely believes he observes his uncle’s death, the military releases him to his family's home on the Laguna reservation. He still suffers mentally, not getting cured at home. This point becomes evident by the story’s confusing jumps between flashbacks and the present during Tayo’s emotional agony.
Tayo's wise grandmother says that he needs a cure from a medicine man since the white man's medicine did not make him right.
The medicine man, Ku'oosh, …show more content…
The book, Ceremony, has many magical references. When Tayo’s Uncles honored the deer by sprinkling cornmeal on its nose to feed its spirit, that showed just one important example for their culture’s animistic beliefs.
The Spiderwoman/Ts’eh/she-elk were separate and the same, spirit, human and animal. Without the guidance from her, Tayo would not have completed his ceremony. As a human, she possessed premonitory powers and controlled the weather. Even her brother, the hunter, transformed into a mountain lion and kept Tayo from capture by the cowboys. The idea that everything’s spirit connects it to everything else supports a key concept to the Laguna people’s magic and religion.
Tayo’s rite of passage from agony to peace followed the steps outline in our textbook perfectly. First, after his modern ritual performed by Betonie, Tayo goes to Mount Taylor initiating the isolation phase. The liminal phase followed, showing Tayo’s transformation from being spiritually wounded to mended. At sunrise on the equinox, he emerges anew after defeating witchcraft and can return to his tribe, signifying the final phase.
Leslie Marmon Silko’s book, Ceremony, expresses many issues faced by Native Americans, specifically the Laguna Pueblo people living in New Mexico during the 1940's.
The central character, Tayo, a man with mixed ethnic heritage, survived being a soldier during World War II and suffered from post-traumatic syndrome.
After Tayo falsely believes he observes his uncle’s death, the military releases him to his family's home on the Laguna reservation. He still suffers mentally, not getting cured at home. This point becomes evident by the story’s confusing jumps between flashbacks and the present during Tayo’s emotional agony.
Tayo's wise grandmother says that he needs a cure from a medicine man since the white man's medicine did not make him right.
The medicine man, Ku'oosh, …show more content…
The book, Ceremony, has many magical references. When Tayo’s Uncles honored the deer by sprinkling cornmeal on its nose to feed its spirit, that showed just one important example for their culture’s animistic beliefs.
The Spiderwoman/Ts’eh/she-elk were separate and the same, spirit, human and animal. Without the guidance from her, Tayo would not have completed his ceremony. As a human, she possessed premonitory powers and controlled the weather. Even her brother, the hunter, transformed into a mountain lion and kept Tayo from capture by the cowboys. The idea that everything’s spirit connects it to everything else supports a key concept to the Laguna people’s magic and religion.
Tayo’s rite of passage from agony to peace followed the steps outline in our textbook perfectly. First, after his modern ritual performed by Betonie, Tayo goes to Mount Taylor initiating the isolation phase. The liminal phase followed, showing Tayo’s transformation from being spiritually wounded to mended. At sunrise on the equinox, he emerges anew after defeating witchcraft and can return to his tribe, signifying the final phase.