Ceremony 177-201

   This section of the reading explains Tayo's journey in search for the cattle and everything he experiences along the way. One of the most important parts of this reading is the proof that Tayo is beginning to open up and believe in Betonie and his ideas. Tayo never believed in medicine men and thought they were a joke but Betonie's visions were beginning to come true for Tayo. Silko said, "but suddenly Betonie's vision was a story he could feel happening-from the stars and the woman, the mountain and the cattle would come". Everything Betonie predicted to happen was coming true for Tayo so he begins to believe the mountain and the cattle will come as well. When Tayo reaches the Texans land in search for the cattle he discovers the horrors of how the white man was using the cattle and there ways of hunting and maintaining the cattle as well. The barbed-wire fences that keep the cattle in play a huge role in the reading and have a much deeper meaning. Silko said, "The barbed wire fence paralleled the rim, and he could see bits of belly hair the deer left on the barbed wire where their trails crossed the fence." These fences dont allow for the animals to be free and in Tayo's mind it was completely wrong, especially them being barbed wire and able to hurt the cattle. The fences were the only thing from keeping Tayo from the cattle and he wasn't about to let the fence get in his way. Silko said, "Fences had never stopped the speckled cattle either, but there was no sign they had been there. so he rode north, looking for another fence that might be holding them." A fence had never stopped the cattle in the past and it wasn't about to stop Tayo either. This search for cattle was able to help Tayo get his mind off everything that has happened to him in the past and help begin to move forward which was also on the most important sections of this reading.

What the barbed wire fences would look like in this reading

Tayo finally beginning to believe in Betonie and it's starting to really help Tayo

      Another important part of this reading is how Tayo begins to express how he as an Indian has been mistreated and stereotyped his whole life by the white man and most importantly how he begins to blame the white man. Silko said, "Why did he hesitate to accuse a white man of stealing but not a Mexican man or and Indian?" The white man has to be held responsible too and isn't above the law and Tayo is beginning to realize that. Not just the Indians or the Mexicans anymore, but the white man has to face judgement and consequences as well. This trip for the cattle wound up to be one of the best solutions for Tayo and his PTS. Silko said, "Hes topped on the edge of the clearing. The air was much colder. He had been so intent on finding the cattle that he had forgotten all the events of the past days and past years. Hunting the cattle was good for that. Old Betonie was right. It was a cure for that, and maybe for other things too". Like stated earlier Betonie's visions begin to become a reality for Tayo and even Tayo sees them start to help with things like his PTS. Silko said, "It was changing, unraveling like the yarn of a dark heavy blanket wrapped around a corpse, the dusty rotted strands of darkness unwinding, giving way to the air; its smothering pressure was lifting from the bones of his skull". Just in tis quote there is proof that Tayo's PTS isn't as strong anymore and things are beginning to change. This search for the cattle is what really turns Tayo in the right direction and sets the tone for the rest of the book.

An idea of something veterans do to help support there PTS, just like Tayo with the Cattle hunt

Shows everyone is equal and the white man is responsible too and it's not always the Indians and Mexicans

Ceremony Continued

  This section of the book begins with Tayo and his experiences with Leroy and Helen Jean. Right away you can tell Tayo cares for Helen Jean when he becomes very protective over her with the Mexican men in the bar. Tayo was too drunk and Harley and leroy didn't even notice Helen Jean leave but she left the bar that night with the Mexican men. Helen Jean then decides she's done with the men in Gallup and the one night stands, she wants to move on to better things. The way of life in Gallup for woman is a never ending trap and she knows that. "You can start today, but you might want to change your clothes." She went in looking for a desk and office job and was offered the janitors positions which shows how woman in Gallup were treated. These woman get hit on and mentally abused by most men because the men are desperate and usually drunk because they're always at bars. Something that really catches the readers attention is when Helen Jean decides not to leave with Isleta and Isleta says "You bitch! You think you're better than a white woman?" Thankfully the Apache at the bar stands up for Helen Jean but this part was really important. Isleta is still living in the past and his experience with Doreen when he was still a soldier and had a uniform. His PTS is making him treat Helen Jean this way because he still thinks that he's superior and can get any woman with his uniform but that uniform is no longer there. This is what happened for most Indian vets returning from war. They struggled to succeed in white america without there uniforms and that led to anger and outbreaks.

Alcohol abuse because of PTS is still very evident in this reading

Indian woman struggled even harder with equality and equal rights

   Another one of the most important parts of this reading is the story at the end. The story about the gambler is full of deeper meanings and is crucial to this book. This most Native stories it has to do with the weather and in this case the gambler kidnaps the clouds which over the years leads to drought and they get freed. The story reminds you of The Boy Who Cried Wolf and how the gambler ticks each visitor into trading all there valuables for his but he always wins. When grandson answers every one of the gamblers questions correct he gambler continues to find more questions because he never loses but this time was different. Kaup'a'ta the gambler was magical though and Sun Man knew that and was going to pretend to be dead. "My children, I have found you!" Sun Man after he cut out the gamblers eyes and unlocked the clouds. Now mother earth can thrive again and this story resembles rebirth in a sense and how the land changed. 

An idea of the rebirth of nature

Mother Nature

Ceremony and Intro to Betonie

   This section of the reading is one of the most important parts of the entire book. The introduction of Betonie is extremely important because he becomes a bridge for Tayo between two worlds and finally gets Tayo to open up and it allows Betonie to help Tayo. For so long Tayo allows his past and how he feels to turn him into somebody he's not and Betonie is able to help Tayo. When Tayo first meets Betonie with Robert he's suspicious of Betonie because of his appearance and the hogan he lived in on the side of mountain. "The old man was tall and his chest was wide; at one time he had been heavier, but old age was consuming everything but the bones. He kept his hair tied back neatly with red yarn in a chongo knot, like the oldtimers wore. He was sitting on an old tin bucket turned upside down by the doorway to his hogan." Betonie's hogan was secluded in a way from Gallup but it still overlooked the land. When asked about why he lives there Betonie said, "I tell them I want to keep track of the poeple". From the start Tayo questioned Betonie's ability to be a medicine man but that statement alone caught Tayo's attention. There is more to Betonie and Tayo quickly learns that. Betonie could connect with Tayo, like Tayo he was mixed raced and was judged for it also. Betonie was Navajo but that didn't interfere with any connection between Tayo and him. Betonie said, "My grandmother was a remarkable Mexican with green eyes". From this point on Tayo feels more comfortable with Betonie and begins to open up about his mixed background and everything he's been through.

Realistic and accurate idea of what Betonie could look like.

Gallup, New Mexico where Betonie's Hogan was located looking over the town.

  Something very special about Betonie was his Hogan and the possessions inside. "Tayo sat down, but he didn't take his eyes off the cardboard boxes that filled the big room; the sides of some boxes were broken down, sagging over with old clothing and rags spilling out; others were jammed with the antennas of dry roots and reddish willow twigs tied in neat bundles with old cotton strings". The description of Betonie's house and the picture Tayo paints of it describe it as a dump. Betonie's hogan was a not a dump though, everything had a specific meaning and every little aspect of the home fit in a unique and special way and Tayo later learns that. When Betonie's hogan is described is when the idea of integration is introduced and how the craziest things put together could still be extremely meaningful and that's what Betonie does. He uses the most of everything, nothing gets wasted and nothing goes unseen or without a deeper meaning. At first Tayo cannot understand Betonie and the deeper meaning of most the things he says but that changes. Betonie said, "Take it easy, don't try to see everything all at once". This is when Betonie and the deeper meaning comes into place because Tayo is quick to judge and overlook most of the things in Betonie's hogan but Betonie just laughs at him because he knows Tayo doesn't understand the deeper meaning yet. Some would say Betonie is a hoarder but everything in his home has a purpose. This connection Betonie builds with Tayo in the hogan is extremely important and plays a major role in Tayo's future in moving forward.

Idea of what a traditional hogan would look like

Things may appear unorganized but everything has a purpose. Especially with Betonie.