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In Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel Ceremony, poetry is paired alongside text to communicate traditional perceptions of healing. In the novel, folklore presents a collective and holistic outlook on modern medicine. This is important since Western medical techniques are not always beneficial in the cultural context of Indigenous tradition. Through the use of poetry, folklore is paired with symbols to further reinforce the importance of healing as a holistic process, particularly in the recovery of Tayo’s PTSD. In Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko uses poetry, specifically those containing Laguna Pueblo folklore, alongside text to offer healing as a collective, holistic process that exists outside of Western methodology.
Folklore provides alternative insights on modern topics; this acts to challenge Western medical practices by offering a more traditional, holistic approach.
In Silko’s folkloric tale of Nau’ts’ity’i, people begin to disregard “the mother corn altar” (Silko 44) after magic is introduced into the town (44). According to the passage:
They thought this magic
could give life to plants
and animals
They didn’t know that it was all just a trick.
…………………………….
So she took the plants and grass from them.
No baby animals were born,
She took the
rainclouds with her.
(Silko 44)
The concepts conveyed in this tale parallel Western colonization; white people, who “see no life” (Silko 125) disregard the value of nature, and “see only objects[,]” (Silko 125) viewing the land for their resources rather than as a living mass.
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“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”
This ideology poses an issue for Indigenous culture, which emphasizes the importance of life and connection with the land.
Further in the tale, the people begin to suffer; in order to seek forgiveness, Nau’ts’ity’i requires that they “... purify / [the] town first ....” (Silko 97). Similar to Tayo’s story, after returning from war with PTSD, he requires a journey of healing, initiated by the ceremony, to “[reconnect] ... with sources of life and healing …” (Todd 160) and repair “his severed connection with the Earth” (Todd 161). Healing is therefore seen as encompassing not only the mind and body, but also as a connection to life and nature. This holistic approach is an important aspect of rehabilitation for the Laguna Pueblo culture. When Tayo loses this connection, he is no longer whole, and therefore needs to reconcile his severed ties. In the tale, in order for the town to be purified, many characters, such as Hummingbird, Fly, and Caterpillar, must work together to return things to their original state, learning that “it isn’t very easy / to fix up things again” (Silko 237). This collective aspect of healing is further represented as Tayo requires the help of his family, Ku’oosh, Betonie, the woman, and many others in order to complete his ceremony. This represents the concept that striving for wholeness requires the input of many. Folklore, therefore, complements Tayo’s journey by representing healing as holistic and all-encompassing. According to Nelson, “ … much of the texture, and also much of the text, of the novel derives directly from oral tradition ...“ (3). By using tales of folklore to comment on modern issues such as healing, ideas about the importance of life and nature are better represented. As a result, the Indigenous value on life is emphasized, diverging from the common Western narrative.
Folklore further highlights healing as holistic in the spiritual sense. In the novel, Silko inserts a tale describing a young boy who gets lost and is later found in a bear cave, behaving like the other bears (118-120). The state in which they find the boy parallels the state in which Tayo was after the war. If they “simply [took] him back[,]” and continued with life as if nothing had happened, Tayo, like the boy, would never recover, “and [would] probably ... die” (Silko 120). Although they return to their respective lives in a physical sense, their spiritual wounds are unhealed. Both characters encounter trauma, lose an aspect of their former selves, and require measures to reclaim their former identities. Similar to the boy, “... there were transitions that had to be made in order [for Tayo] to become whole again …” (157). This illustrates the idea that healing is an ongoing process that requires personal growth and patience. In Tayo’s case, illness is seen as stemming from a disconnection from land and identity. Therefore, he requires a journey of healing to become complete again, both on the physical and mental level. However, Western ideologies do not communicate these ideas and their methods of healing mirror these inadequacies. When Tayo enters the Veterans’ Hospital, he is given “medicine [that] … [places] a twilight cloud behind his eyes[;]” (14) “[i]f they had not ... led him to the car, he would still be there, ... invisible in the gray twilight” (14). This reveals that Tayo’s treatment in this hospital had not been effective. He was being treated in a physical sense, but his mental and spiritual needs were not being addressed. In order to recover, alternative measures needed to be introduced. He required methods that approached rehabilitation from the spiritual perspective, restoring his damaged mind and soul. As Gross suggests, “the holistic nature of rituals … create[s] a ‘sense of unified connectedness in time, space, and group identity’ thus placing the individual once again in harmony with ‘all relations on earth and above’” (qtd. in Gross 379). Therefore, the onset of the ceremony vitalizes Tayo’s healing journey by rebalancing his life and realigning his spirit with the Laguna Pueblo identity. The restoration of balance and connection with the land through identity paints healing in a holistic sense, emphasizing the value of spirituality. By building the premise of the novel off of Indigenous oral tradition, Silko is able to apply these traditional concepts to issues of the modern world.
Since generic Western healing practices do not always align with Indigenous ways of thinking, Indigenous individuals are better equipped for rehabilitation by considering alternative approaches to healing. In Ceremony, “[t]he white doctors had yelled at [Tayo] ... to think only of himself, and not about the others, ...” (Silko 116) claiming that “he would never get well as long as he used words like ‘we’ and ‘us’ (116). However, “… medicine [doesn’t] work that way, because the world [doesn’t] work that way” (Silko 116) for the Laguna Pueblo culture. As opposed to the independent lifestyle of Westerners, Indigenous peoples embody an egalitarian way of life that values cooperation and collectivism. Therefore, in order for healing to be effective, these ideologies must be applied on a practical level. In contrast to the Western doctors, Betonie, a Native medicine man, tells Tayo that “‘[t]he people must do it’” (Silko 115). Tayo must stay true to the collective aspect of his culture and look at his healing journey from a unified perspective that requires the guidance of many. According to Gross, “[f]amilies and communities form the foundation of American Indian ceremonies” (378). Therefore, by incorporating the egalitarian aspects of his culture into his identity, Tayo is better equipped for rehabilitation. Tayo embodies the idea that “[h]is sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found great and inclusive of everything” (Silko 116). He must, therefore, accept others and the land as components of his personal journey. By looking outside of modern medicine, Tayo is able to reconnect his mind and soul to all aspects of his wellbeing. As Gross suggests, “[c]eremonies, it seems, [help] some veterans heal their psychological wounds. In fact, some veterans report that going through ceremonies upon their return literally saves their lives” (378). These ceremonies help Indigenous peoples heal through traditional ways that repair their mind and spirit. While the Western form of healing encouraged Tayo to focus on only his personal well-being, the Indigenous perspective encompassed the collective aspects of his ideology and culture. The many individuals and obstacles that he encounters help him feel whole, again, improving his psychological well-being.
The indigenous way of thinking is non-linear and abstract; when paired with the symbolic nature of poetry, underlying meanings regarding the healing process are established between the poetry and the text. In particular, the use of motifs and symbols in poetry conveys abstract ideas that are difficult to communicate with the central narrative alone. In Ceremony, the concept of bellies is a motif that presents itself recurrently. It is introduced in the poem, “Ceremony”, as a house for stories which, “... fight off illness and death” (Silko 2). This relates to the folkloric tale of “Thought-Woman, the spider, / [who] … named things and … / they appeared” (Silko 1). Todd suggests that like Spider Woman, “[p]eople are storytellers, and they also create the world” (157). Todd labels humans as “... avatars of Spider-Woman, …” who “keep their stories in their bellies, ready to spin out the right story at the right time to keep the world in balance” (157). The concept of Spider Woman acts through a poetic medium to metaphorically represent stories as a source of creation. The belly, in which Spider Woman spins her story, relates to the belly, in which the poem, “Ceremony,” pinpoints as the source of all stories. Gross suggests,”[t]he healing power of storytelling in regard to recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder can be understood in relation to the larger storytelling tradition of the Anishinaabe” (388). Since humans possess a belly, they are all therefore capable of healing through storytelling. Both symbols contribute to Ceremony by associating an abstract component of healing with a concrete image. By metaphorically communicating storytelling as a source of healing through poetic means, Indigenous perceptions of healing are exemplified. These motifs, containing Laguna Pueblo folklore, correspond to aspects of Tayo’s healing process.
Specifically, the recurrent use of poetry to metaphorically denote images with deeper meanings enables healing to be viewed in a holistic light. The Indigenous way of thinking contains many abstract views; therefore, the use of these symbols in the prose narrative connects these views with concrete ideas. This complements Tayo’s narrative by identifying the source of his illness and recovery. In Ceremony, when “Indian witchery … made white people… [,]” (Silko 122) through storytelling, the unfavorable qualities of Western newcomers are exemplified. These people, who come from “… caves of dark hills … “(Silko 125) are described to “… grow away from the earth … [,] “(Silko 125) which will lead them to “… destroy each other … “(Silko 127). According to Todd, a cave “... enters into the very belly of the Earth” (158). With the belly as a symbol for creation, the neglect of the mass from which they derive signifies neglect towards life and therefore the core of their existence. When Tayo begins to possess these qualities by disregarding the value of life and his culture, by “… smash[ing] [the flies] between his hands” (Silko 94) or driving a beer bottle into Emo’s belly, he is diverging from his Laguna Pueblo roots, resulting in the need to be purified. In order to do this, he must reconnect his mind and body with the land, approaching rehabilitation with a holistic approach. According to Todd, “[Tayo] must … make room for the healing stories that will rebalance his life, which includes the land, plants, and animals around him” (158). Therefore, the key to Tayo’s healing stems from the value of life, creation, and therefore, his Laguna Pueblo identity. The symbols that derive through poetic means enable this concept to formulate.
This exemplifies the vital role that poetry plays in promoting the importance of Indigenous healing when Western methods fail to be effective. When paired with folklore, the importance of taking a collective and holistic approach to medicine is reinforced, encouraging the acceptance of Indigenous ways of healing.
Works Cited
The Understanding Of Healing In Ceremony. (2024, Feb 14). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-understanding-of-healing-in-ceremony-essay
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