Ceremony Conclusion

   The Ending of Ceremony is all about Tayo's realization of what his life has become and looking back and realizing the reasons for every setback or mishap in his life. Tayo discovers what western medicine and the western lifestyle ended up doing to his life. At the time Tayo believed western medicine was helping him and allowing him recover from things like PTS and his childhood but it was only disguising it. Tayo is constantly throughout the book being pulled back into his old lifestyle but at the end of the book it seems as if he will do anything to escape that lifestyle and complete his own ceremony. You begin to realize just like Betonie has explained to Tayo that in order to cure new illnesses, new ceremonies were needed to overcome these illnesses. In order to cure these illnesses for Tayo he needs to heal and T'sheh is able to begin that process for Tayo. T'sheh brought new hope for Tayo, Silko said, "But his room was the same, the creaking bedsprings and frame pushed into the southeast corner below the small window. The terror of the dreaming he had done on this bed was gone, uprooted from his belly ; and the woman had filled the hollow spaces with new dreams". the healing process is in full affect from this point on because of the help Tayo receives from T'sheh. Tayo's not just healing with himself but with every aspect of his life. He's healing with the earth and becoming content with life. Another important part of Tayo's healing is the changing of seasons. Silko said, "Only the sky had changed, washed clear of the dust and haze which had swirled off the red clay flats that summer before. He could smell wild flowers growing in the weeds and grass besides the road, and he heard the big bumblebees and the smaller bees sucking the blossoms". With the beginning of Tayo's change and healing the season change is extremely important.

Tayo and the healing process

The changing of seasons

        Another extremely important part of the ending of the book and understanding of Tayo is witchery and its use in Laguna Pueblo tradition. Throughout the entire book witchery is expressed through poem or saying and it affects Tayo greatly. Whenever you think of witchery you think of evil and that's exactly what witchery is with the addition of manipulating people like Tayo throughout the entire book into loss. Tayo ultimately loses everything and in the end of the book he figures out how to get himself back. an example of witchery near the end of the book is when Tayo sees Leroy and Harley and thinks he's going to be getting a ride but in fact they were just trying to give him up to Tayo. These men were his friends but the witchery had consumed them too and Tayo had to overcome that. Silko said, "He looked down at them. If he had not known about their witchery, they might have fooled him." This is a perfect example of how Tayo has changed. He can sense and realize the witchery now and it becomes extremely beneficial for him and his ceremony. There is a poem at the end of the book that says, "Every evil which entangled him was cut to pieces". All the witchery and evil that was with Tayo for his entire life was being lifted and it seems as if his ceremony was becoming complete. 

Tayo finally overcoming his past life and being content

Tayo is betrayed by Harley and Leroy who were his friends but they were taken over by the witchery